Vandy’s Sarah Fuller becomes first woman to score in Power 5 football game

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 made sure to give Fuller the ball, the official bringing it to her at the sideline.

After the game, Fuller said the Vanderbilt football staff has judged her on ability throughout her short tenure with the team.

“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.”

Vanderbilt finally gave her another chance with 7:22 left in the game. Ken Seals hit Ben Bresnahan with a 16-yard TD pass, and Fuller went back out. She kicked the extra point through as the Commodores closed to 35-17.

Fuller made history as the first female to play in a Power Five conference game on Nov. 28 with a squib kickoff to open the second half. She has remained on the roster even as Vanderbilt’s other kickers came out of quarantine and rejoined the team.

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.