Haley Van Voorhis becomes the first woman non-kicker to ever play in a college football game as she SACKS QB in D-II debut win
- The 19-year-old took the field in the first quarter of Shenandoah’s win over Juniata
- Van Voorhis – a junior – joined the Hornets in 2021 and is 6-foot-4, 145 pounds
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Haley Van Voorhis, a safety for Division III Shenandoah University, on Saturday became the first woman to ever appear in an NCAA football game at a position other than kicker.
The five-foot-five, 145-pound junior recorded a quarterback rush in the first quarter of Shenandoah’s 48-7 home win over Juniata. She brought the quarterback to the ground just after he released the ball, and the third down pass was incomplete.
The Juniata Eagles then continued to kick and gave possession back to their rivals.
“It’s an amazing thing,” Van Voorhis said The Washington Post. ‘I just wanted to go out and do my thing. I want to show other people that this is what women can do, to show what I can do. It’s a big moment.
“I made the impossible possible and I’m excited about that.”
Haley Van Voorhis, a safety for D-II Shenandoah, is the first woman to play in college football
Van Voorhis joined the Shenandoah Hornets football team in 2021 after playing in high school
Van Voorhis’ performance was the latest milestone for women in college football. She was previously a high school player at Christchurch High in Virginia.
Van Voorhis, 19, and a native of Plains, Virginia, joined the Shenandoah Hornets football program in 2021.
“There are definitely people who see the story and think, ‘This girl is going to get hurt,’” she added. ‘I hear that often. Or: ‘She’s too small, she doesn’t weigh enough, she’s not tall enough.’ But I’m not the smallest on my team, and I’m not the lightest.’
In 2020, Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller earned two extra points, becoming the first woman to score in a Power Five conference game.
Van Voorhis described her cameo in Saturday’s match as a “big moment” for women in sports
Liz Heaston became the first woman to score in college football with two extra points for NAIA’s Willamette on October 18, 1997.
Katie Hnida became the first woman to score at the FBS level when she earned two extra points for New Mexico on August 30, 2003.
April Goss was the second to score an extra point when she scored for Kent State in 2015.
Tonya Butler was the first woman to make a field goal in an NCAA game for Division II West Alabama on September 13, 2003.