Most college sports are segregated by gender—men’s and women's soccer, men’s and women's basketball, etc.
But football is not one of them, and with Duke’s kicking troubles over the years, it made sense that at some point a woman might give a male kicker a run for his money.
In the fall of 1995, then-sophomore Heather Sue Mercer vied for a spot on the Duke football team as a kicker. She began her efforts the previous year, but was told by head coach Fred Goldsmith that she would need to get better.
Perhaps the climax of her career came on April 15, 1995, in the team’s annual spring game. Starting kicker Tom Cochran was sidelined, and Mercer came on in the closing seconds for a chance to win the game.
From 28 yards out, she nailed it.
It had the potential to be a game-changing moment in women’s sports at Duke, which dealt with Title IX accusations of inequality in the late 1990s. The former All-New York high school kicker and varsity fencer with the Blue Devils also received significant publicity from outlets like The New York Times, and numerous TV programs—including the Late Show with David Letterman—wanted her to come on air.
She declined, saying she would focus on the team, and that she didn’t want to make a big deal of her playing.
But the fall of 1995 did not result in any improvements for Mercer, who was listed in the team's media guide and official roster sent to the NCAA. Goldsmith wound up bumping her down the depth chart, citing solely her inability to kick at an adequate level.
Eventually, he asked that she stop attending team practices because he did not expect to use her and had numerous kickers on the depth chart in front of her.
The tension between the two led to a 1997 lawsuit by Mercer, claiming discrimination on the basis of sex. A federal court initially dismissed the case, but Mercer won an appeal Oct. 12, 2000, making national headlines again and winning $2 million in punitive damage.
In theory, then, it is possible that if freshman A.J. Reed continues to struggle kicking—he is 3-of-7 on the year—we could see the appearance of a women’s soccer player. Several women over the years have made sparing appearances at small schools in college football.
Just don’t get your hopes up. After all, the women’s soccer team is one game away from an ACC regular-season title and has high hopes for a national championship this year.
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