Sarah Fuller becomes 1st woman to score in Power 5 college football game
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
Updated: 8:10 p.m.
Sarah Fuller has a football keepsake from her history-making moment. The ball from her second extra point likely is headed to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Being treated like just another athlete? That's the best part of becoming the first woman to score in a Power Five conference game, finally getting the chance to do more than squib a kickoff for Vanderbilt on Saturday during a 42-17 loss to Tennessee.
“This whole time has been if I can do it, if I’m good enough to do it,” Fuller said. “It wasn’t if I was a girl or not. So that’s something I’ve really appreciated. At the end of the day, they treated me like an athlete and that’s the best I could ask for.”
She made history Nov. 28 as the first woman to play in a Power Five game, but was on the field only once, driving a low kickoff to open the second half as the Commodores got shut out at Missouri.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Vanderbilt interim coach Todd Fitch said special teams coordinator Devin Fitzsimmons had been charting kicks, especially close where the Commodores had struggled this season with few opportunities in games.
“So it was really, truly off statistics of the week’s preparation,” Fitch said. "It wasn’t about, you know, trying to do something special. It was truly who made the most of those kicks.”
With Vanderbilt (0-9) getting the chance to play after postponing last week's game at Georgia, the Commodores played with just 49 scholarship players and finally gave the goalkeeper for the Southeastern Conference women's soccer tournament champs an opportunity to put up points.
Fuller, listed second out of three available kickers on the depth chart, came out for the extra point that tied the game at 7 with 1:50 left in the first quarter.
The 6-foot-2 senior put the ball through the uprights and celebrated by pulling her fist in before slapping high-fives with teammates. She ran off the field with a big smile with her family in the stands all with their arms up in the air. Center judge Chris Garner handed her the ball on the sideline.
Fuller's second chance came with 7:22 left in the fourth quarter at the other end of the field, and she kicked the ball through.
Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt, who had a daughter earlier this year, said it was awesome.
“She’s obviously a winner,” Pruitt said about Fuller. “And she walked up there and kicked it right through. So I just think it says a whole lot about her and really, kind of her fortitude to be brave enough to go do this.”
Vanderbilt lost its 13th consecutive SEC game, its longest skid since dropping 23 straight between 2000 and 2003.
Tennessee (3-6) left with the much-needed victory with Harrison Bailey and J.T. Shrout throwing for two touchdowns apiece.
No woman before Fuller had appeared in an SEC game or for any Power Five team. Liz Heaston became the first woman to score in college football with two extra points for Willamette of NAIA on Oct. 18, 1997.
Katie Hnida was the first woman to score at the Football Bowl Subdivision level with two extra points for New Mexico on Aug. 30, 2003.
April Goss was the second, with an extra point for Kent State in 2015. Tonya Butler was the first woman to kick a field goal in an NCAA game for Division II West Alabama on Sept. 13, 2003.
