Haley Van Voorhis of Division III Shenandoah University became the first female non-kicker to play in an NCAA football game on Saturday afternoon.
Van Voorhis, a junior safety, entered during the first quarter of a 48-7 victory over Juniata and rushed in to put heavy pressure on the quarterback on third-and-7 to force a punt.
The 5-foot-6, 145-pound Van Voorhis joined the Shenandoah program in 2021. She previously was a high school player at Christchurch High in Virginia.
In 2021, Van Voorhis addressed being a woman football player during an interview with ESPN.
“There’s definitely people out there who see the story and think, ‘This girl’s going to get hurt,'” Van Voorhis said. “I hear that a lot. Or, ‘She’s too small, doesn’t weigh enough, not tall enough.’ But I’m not the shortest on my team, and I’m not the lightest.”
Van Voorhis joins former women kickers Katie Hnida and Sarah Fuller in the history books.
Hnida was the first woman to score in a Division I game she made two extra points for New Mexico in 2003. In 2020, soccer goalkeeper Fuller joined the Vanderbilt football team when it needed a kicker and made two extra points to become the first women to score in a Power 5 game.
Also, April Goss of Kent State made an extra point in 2015.
–Field Level Media
