Sarah Fuller, an SEC champion in women's soccer, made college football history Saturday afternoon for Vanderbilt. Wearing No. 32 and with her parents in attendance, Fuller's historic kickoff to open the second half against Missouri made her the first female student-athlete to play in a major conference college football game.
"It's just so exciting," Fuller told ESPN after the game. "The fact that I can represent the little girls out there who want to do this or thought about playing football or any sport really. And [I hope] it encourages them to be able to step out and do something big like this."
When asked how she prepared during halftime for her historic kick, Fuller said she was really calm. "The SEC championship was more stressful if I'm going to be honest."
Watch the historic moment below, which was a designed pooch kick with the Commodores trailing 24-0. She joins Katie Hnida (New Mexico, 2003) and April Goss (Kent State, 2015) as the only females to see action in an FBS game.
HISTORY MADE 👏@VandyFootball’s Sarah Fuller is the first woman in college football history to play in a Power 5 game. pic.twitter.com/zhSaLqa3Bg
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 28, 2020
In a pregame interview with ESPN, Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason described Fuller as fearless. Here's the full conversation, including Mason's decision to call on Fuller:
"Her nickname on this team is Champ." -@CoachDerekMason #RTI | #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/5lw9KCzA3N
— Vanderbilt Football (@VandyFootball) November 28, 2020
As a senior goalkeeper for the Vanderbilt women’s soccer team, the Wylie, Texas native started nine games in 2020 and posted three clean sheets through the Commodores' SEC Championship winning season. Fuller’s 0.97 goals against average stands as Vanderbilt’s eighth-best mark in a season.
Fuller has been selected to the SEC Academic Honor Roll each year of her career, but her off-the-field successes do not stop there. In 2019, the Medicine, Health and Society major worked with the Nashville Adult Literacy Council, and over the summer, she led a team in an effort to help End Slavery Tennessee market a tea produced by Thistle Farms.
But on Saturday, her mission was to inspire women to play sports, to play like girls.
Tomorrow I will be wearing “Play Like a Girl” on the back of my helmet. @iplaylikeagirl is nonprofit that encourages girls to play sports and get exposure to STEM opportunities. Check them out! #playlikeagirl https://t.co/2inXh5PM2V pic.twitter.com/W7lF9dXkUR
— Sarah Fuller (@SarahFuller_27) November 27, 2020
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Sarah Fuller makes history as first female to play in a major conference football game - NCAA.com
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