Bend It Like Fuller: How A College Soccer Star Broke Ground For Women In Football

As it turns out, all it takes to bust stubborn gender norms is for a few injuries to heal, a global pandemic and being in the right place at the right time. At least that's how Sarah Fuller did it.

The soccer goalkeeper made history last month when she became the first woman to play a football game in the Power Five — a group of the largest and most popular conferences in college sports.

After the senior helped lead Vanderbilt University to a Southeastern Conference soccer championship, Fuller got a surprise phone call: "Have you ever kicked a football before?" Vanderbilt soccer associate head coach Ken Masuhr asked Fuller. She had.

With several players in quarantine due to the coronavirus, the university's football team was down a kicker.

Fuller had just finished packing for her holiday break back home to see her family in Wylie, Texas, when her coach said he needed a split-second decision.