Her kick wasn’t perfect, but that hardly mattered to April Goss. When she finally got her big chance, Goss made her point – and history.
A four-year member of Kent State’s team, Goss kicked an extra point in the first half Saturday in a 45-13 win over Delaware State, becoming the second woman to score in a major college football game.
Wearing No. 91, Goss made the kick with 4:30 left in the second quarter, giving the Golden Flashes a 29-6 lead. Following the touchdown, starting kicker Shane Hynes initially went on the field, but coach Paul Haynes called a timeout and sent in Goss.
Her kick veered right off the hold (http://bit.ly/1KKObrK ), giving her a moment of panic, but it cleared the crossbar and went through the uprights. When the officials signaled the kick was good, she was mobbed by her teammates. Once Goss got to the sideline, she shared hugs with all of Kent State’s coaches and was congratulated by university president Dr. Beverly Warren.
”I was a little disappointed I didn’t make a better kick,” she said in a phone interview. ”I was sure it was going right, but it did go through. I’ll probably beat myself up for that for a little while, but it was awesome.”
Katie Hnida kicked a pair of extra points for New Mexico in 2003. According to STATS LLC, Goss, who was a soccer player in high school before deciding to try football, appears to be the only woman currently on a Division I roster.
Haynes had been trying to get Goss into a game for the past two seasons. Before her historic kick, the closest she came was making the game-winning extra point in the 2014 spring game.
Goss knew there was a chance she’d get a chance to kick against Delaware State, a Football Championship Subdivision school. She didn’t have time to get nervous when she went on the field, and other than her kick angling to the right, it was a moment she’ll never forget.
”Amazing,” said Goss, who had yet to talk to her parents, sister and future brother-in-law who were at the game. ”The way my teammates helped me celebrate was special.”
Earlier this week, Haynes had high praise for Goss.
”She works her tail off. She’s the first one out there in practice and the last one off the field,” he said. ”Every time someone gets up and talks, one of our players gets up and talks, they always talk about they’ve got brothers, and a sister.”
Now that she’s made her extra point, Goss hopes to get another try but understands that might not happen.
”I would love another chance,” she said. ”But what I’d like more is for us to make it to a bowl game and win, that would be more special.”
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