In the pandemic 2020 college football season, Sarah Fuller made history. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, the story might bring it back. Fuller became the first female college kicker to play in a Power Five game when she kicked off for Vanderbilt to start the second half against Missouri. A couple weeks later, she converted a pair of extra points for the Commodores against Tennessee. In addition to putting up points on the scoreboard for Vanderbilt, Fuller did something else. She inspired a populous of fans by doing something they had never seen one of their own do.
One of those was Caprice Chiuchiolo.
In December of 2020, Chiuchiolo was in the eighth grade and soccer was her specialty having played it since the young age of four. After witnessing Fuller’s big moment, she wanted to give it a try for herself.
“After seeing it on TV, I remember saying to my dad that I wanted to try that,” Chiuchiolo said in an e-mail interview. “We went the next day to a local park and I was surprised at my accuracy and distance for never having tried it before. I talked it over with my parents and decided that I wanted to try out for the Gilbert Christian football team as a placekicker.”
The next year, Chiuchiolo reached out to Danny Norris, who was the varsity head coach at the time (Norris is now at Benjamin Franklin HS) and shared her interest of wanting to be on the Knights. While Norris was supportive about the tryout, he was also honest and straightforward about having to earn her spot.
“I was honestly very nervous the first few days at summer practices and didn’t know what to expect,” Chiuchiolo said. “Walking into a locker room of 40-50 male football players can be quite daunting. Not to mention, I had never worn a helmet or football pads before, so that took some getting used to. After a month or so of doing all the team conditioning practices in the heat of summer, and getting more consistent daily with my kicking, I had earned not just a spot on the team, but I believe the players’ and coaches’ respect.”
It was important to Chiuchiolo to not be treated special. She wasn’t a “female football player”, she was simply “a football player” on the Knights.
Chiuchiolo shared in the kicking duties during her first three years at Gilbert Christian. The longest field goal she converted in a game was from 32 yards out. That came late in the first half in 2022 on the road at ALA-Ironwood. It gave the Knights a 20-7 lead in a game they went on to win 34-27. Chiuchiolo accounted for 10 points on the night with a pair of field goals and a perfect 4-for-4 in extra points. For her kicking career on the gridiron, she went 37-of-40 in extra points, plus the two field goals against ALA-Ironwood. Current head coach John Carlson called Chiuchiolo a “phenomenal athlete”.
And you may have noticed, I said “went” in that last part. Because while Chiuchiolo has just begun her senior year, she won’t be kicking for the Knights on Friday nights this fall. That’s because of a tremendous opportunity she’s unlocked for herself with her abilities of what she can do on the soccer pitch. It’s a skill that has already allowed her a historical moment of her own.
“This was a very tough decision for me,” Chiuchiolo said. “One that I didn’t take lightly. After speaking to my parents and reflecting, I recently decided trying to balance preparing for the World Cup in October and possibly being gone for over 30 days for that, as well as my soccer club practice/game schedule, it just wouldn’t have been fair to the team or myself if I couldn’t make the 100 percent commitment. Although I won’t be out there with the football team, I will be cheering them on from the stands when my schedule allows.”
“I’m extremely proud of my three years on the team and what we accomplished together,” Chiuchiolo said. “I’m so thankful to Coach Norris for believing in me and for giving me the opportunity to prove myself. I’m thankful as well to all my teammates, especially my O-Line for always protecting me, and the coaches for their support, trust, and all the wonderful memories.”
So what exactly does Chiuchiolo, an attacking midfielder, bring to the soccer field? Here’s how Gilbert Christian girls’ soccer head coach Hector Orellana describes her:
“Tenacious,” Orellana said in an e-mail interview. “Highly competitive with lethal speed and the ability to score from anywhere on the pitch.”
The numbers back that up as Chiuchiolo has played three years on varsity for the Knights (42 games) and scored 75 goals while assisting on 52 others. She’s scored at least 30 goals in each of the past two years and, of course, with 25 goals scored this winter, would hit the century mark. Another number of importance from the 2023 season was 4. That’s the number of postseason wins that the Knights obtained to win the 3A state championship to cap a 16-0 perfect season. The last of those was an 8-0 victory over Safford in a game ending 18 minutes early due to a mercy rule. Finishing the job was important because GCHS came up short the year before in the title game (to Benjamin Franklin).
“Having reached the state championship the year before and coming up short was a terrible feeling,” Chiuchiolo said. “We, as a team, were determined to finish the job last year. We had an amazing group of players who bought into the ‘team first’ mentality which our Gilbert Christian coaches Orellana and (James) Mack preached to us from Day One.”
While she has a (good) shot at hitting that 100 milestone, the number she would prefer is 2.
“Honestly, I would trade every one of those (goals scored) for another championship this coming year,” Chiuchiolo said. “Going back-to-back would be a great way to go out as a senior. We have a great group coming back and I’m sure we’ll be just as hungry as we were last year.”
Chiuchiolo has dual citizenship through her father’s and grandmother’s Ecuadorian side of the family. After the HS soccer season, she was selected and played for Ecuador’s Under-17 team in the South American World Cup qualifiers in Paraguay last March.
“I was fortunate to have been invited and attend my first Ecuadorian U-17 national camp when I was 14 years old,” Chiuchiolo said. “It was an amazing experience. I was so honored to be able to represent my family’s Ecuadorian heritage proudly.”
She not only represented last spring, she scored a pair of goals in the final match of pool play against Uruguay in a 4-0 win. That advanced Ecuador to the final stage, where La Tricolor edged the host nation, 1-0 making it to the U-17 women’s World Cup for the very first time.
A night I will never forget! So proud to be a part of this historical U17 Ecuadorian team who qualified for the first time to the World Cup and contributing with a couple goals is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.🇪🇨⚽️ #mundial #worldcup @LaTri @CONMEBOL pic.twitter.com/EAz7P14RCA
— Caprice Chiuchiolo (@CapriceChuch) April 25, 2024
The final roster for the World Cup hasn’t been determined yet, but all the players that played in the qualifiers are being considered. Over the summer, there were a pair of 10-day camps in Ecuador to prepare for the big event which will be held in the Dominican Republic. The U-17 Women’s World Cup will run from October 16-November 3 and Ecuador is in a pool with New Zealand, the Dominican Republic, and Nigeria. Ecuador’s first match will be on the opening day of match play against the Dominican Republic. The coaching staff continues to evaluate all the players and will announce the final roster as the time draws closer.
“If I do get the opportunity to represent Ecuador at the World Cup,” Chiuchiolo said. “I will, as always, wear the Ecuadorian crest proudly and with honor on my chest.”
Regardless of how things go in the Dominican Republic for Chiuchiolo and the Ecuadorian team, she has decided to continue playing soccer after her time at Gilbert Christian. Last year, on the first official day of recruiting, several Division I schools reached out to her. Her first call that morning was with Grand Canyon Head Coach Chris Cissell. From the location of the school in West Phoenix to Cissell and the rest of the staff to the success of the program (GCU went 14-5-4 and made the NCAA Tournament in 2023), Chiuchiolo was impressed and has verbally committed to the Lopes.
“Grand Canyon checked all the boxes,” Chiuchiolo said. “I knew I wanted to stay in-state and be close to home and my family. GCU being a Christian, faith-based university is very important to me as well. Attending a university that has had a lot of success and a winning culture, which GCU has, is very exciting. Most importantly, GCU soccer has an amazing coaching staff, which includes Coach Ben Parman, Coach Blake Reynolds, and is led by Head Coach Chris Cissell. I can’t wait to be a Lope and be part of the GCU soccer family. Lopes Up!”
Heading into her senior year, Chiuchiolo will not only be leading the Knights on the field, but also in demonstrating the team’s culture to new teammates. Not surprisingly, it’s another area that she excels at.
“She possesses the ability to inspire and motivate teammates,” Orellana said. “Caprice communicates effectively on and off the pitch. She always leads by example, demonstrating dedication, hard work, and sportsmanship. She cares for her teammates and wants them to succeed.”
With high school soccer being a winter sport in Arizona (it’s in the fall at the college level), Chiuchiolo will next play for Gilbert Christian when the team begins its regular season on December 2 on the road at Yuma Catholic. There are a few things she is looking forward to in her senior year as an athlete and a student.
“Defending our soccer state championship and trying to go back-to-back would probably be first,” Chiuchiolo said. “I am also looking forward to Signing Day this coming November. I’m excited for graduation and ready to celebrate with my classmates all of our hard work we’ve put in academically and athletically over the past four years.”
Reach Chris Eaton at gridironarizona@yahoo.com or DM at @gridironarizona with story ideas.
