The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team has had major success over the years, most recently in 2019 as they won their fourth world cup. Household names like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Carli Loyd are just a few who have helped pave the way for the USWNT in recent years. However, a new generation of players have arrived to make their mark. On November 27, 2020, twenty year old Sophia Smith became the first female born in the 2000s to earn a cap on the USWNT. This is a momentous moment and quite a reality check, seeing how far away the early 2000s really are. Although she played for just a few minutes, Smith made magic happen and truly earned her spot on the team.
On November 28, 2020, Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a major conference football game. Let's give a little background before we get into this history-making moment. Sarah Fuller is a goalkeeper on the women's soccer team at Vanderbilt university in Nashville. After suffering from a few injuries in previous years and leading up to the season, Fuller was finally called up to be the starting keeper after four games. Later in the season, Fuller got a call from the assistant coach of her soccer team telling her about the football coaches interest in her and her kick. After her first practice with the team, head football coach Derek Mason knew that he had made the right decision. Shortly after, Sarah Fuller made history. And a few weeks later, on December 12, she once again made history as she became the first female athlete to score in a Power 5 conference college football game. Fuller inspired athletes everywhere not only with her massive kick or being the only female on the team, but with her emphasis on the importance of girls in sports. She went on to share that she had one job to do in that game and one job only: score a field goal. It didn’t matter that she was a female playing on an all male team because Fuller was just as talented as any of her teammates. Fuller even had the words “play like a girl” written on her helmet, seeing that playing like a girl means to work harder and smarter and make magic happen on the field. This message was also used to spread awareness for a non-profit organization in Tennessee that encourages young girls to go out and play sports. Women are paving their way in athletics and breaking barriers that we’ve never seen before and I can’t wait to see what we do next.