.jmkliegman caught up with Sarah Fuller, who has been through a lot since she became the first woman to play in a Power Five football game in 2020
. She was reaching heights far beyond everything she had achieved in soccer, the sport she’d made her life’s work.
On top of the soccer doldrums, she believes that, at least on a subconscious level, the stress she endured from her fame as part of the football team was finally catching up with her. With her thoughts of self-harm and suicide swelling, she scheduled an emergency session with him to discuss what she could do. The two agreed that Fuller would take off from soccer for at least one week. She ended up staying away from spring break through the rest of the semester.
“Obviously, I will go and try to achieve anything,” Fuller says. “Except run another marathon. I’m not doing that. I’m more of a one-and-done.” At Aurora, Fuller was the happiest she’s ever been playing soccer. She loved the all-women environment, which made for a close-knit team culture. She also felt she was playing her best soccer as the playoffs wore on, even saving a penalty kick as Aurora, which has sold out crowds on the same field where the NFL’s Vikings practice, breezed through the playoffs. The team’s supporters group often chanted her name.
to have access to adequate resources within their athletic departments to destigmatize seeking help and offer professionals who are used to working with their specific concerns., USWNT legend Briana Scurry, calls Fuller’s advocacy “an inspiration.” She adds: “We are not robots. We don’t just play the sport. We are people playing the sport and we have things that happen to us that we feel with our platform we can shed light on. And she understands that and she’s done a fantastic job with it.