University of Rhode Island fourth-year defensive back Sarah Yee appeared in 73 games over her four-year career, and in the 85th minute of her 66th game, she scored her first collegiate goal.
Yee’s hometown is listed as Barrington, Rhode Island, a 50-minute drive to campus, but she originally grew up in Fall River, Massachusetts, until she moved to Barrington at 12 years old.
“I was playing with the boys because at that time, there wasn’t a girls’ team at all,” Yee said. “I just remember kind of getting ripped down to the ground, falling down and crying and being so upset about it.”
Yee credits her dad for helping her get through youth soccer, from driving her to practices to eventually coaching her teams. Yee’s father also gave pep talks to her when she would be roughed up playing youth soccer with boys.
“He was like, ‘You’re going to have to deal with it, you’re going to have to be tough, you’re going to have to muscle through it; be a grinder,’” Yee said. “So, from that day, I’ve just been working my butt off, never taking the shove and staying on the ground kind of thing [and] making sure to get back up and continue to fight.”
Yee played as a forward at Barrington High School, with her first experience as a defensive back coming when she played for FC Stars in Lancaster, Massachusetts. One of Yee’s teammates got injured, and Yee’s coach, Graeme Blackman, then had her slowly transition from forward to defensive midfielder and eventually right back.
Through 73 career games at URI, Yee made 35 starts, with 28 coming in her first two years. Her first start came in a matchup against Princeton University on Sept. 1, 2022. Yee said that she felt a lot of nerves heading into her first start, but gave credit to the coaching staff and her teammates for supporting her and consistently congratulating her on her achievements.
“[Yee] came in right away, made a huge impact, she was good in training [camp] and ultimately just gave us quality minutes in the game,” URI Head Coach Megan Jessee said. “That’s why she earned the [starting] spot to begin with and ultimately kept it quite a bit of the year.”
Over the last two seasons, Yee was phased out of the starting lineup but still received consistent minutes off the bench. On Oct. 3, 2024, in a home matchup against the University of Richmond, Yee recorded her first collegiate assist when she sent a cross into the box for third-year midfielder Courtney Poon, who put the ball in the back of the net.
Just a little more than a year later, in a senior day matchup against Davidson College, where Yee was honored pregame, the Rams were leading 1-0 in the 85th minute. Third-year midfielder Nika Jacobs got the ball and sent a quick pass into the box, where the pass found the feet of Yee. Yee put her second shot of the day into the back of the net for her first collegiate goal.
“[Jacobs] collects the ball on that right side, and I see her pick her head up, and no one else is in the box,” Yee said. “I said, ‘All right, well, now’s my chance, I guess.’ So, running up and in the moment, the one thought that flashed in my mind [was], ‘Should I use my right foot for this?’ but apparently I didn’t, and I used the left [foot], and I was just watching it hit the back of the net.”
Yee didn’t stop at just one career goal. In an Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament quarterfinals matchup against Virginia Commonwealth University on Oct. 31, Yee found the back of the net after the ball was knocked away on a save and found Yee waiting for the rebound. The goal gave Rhody a 2-0 lead and ended up being the deciding factor as URI held on to win 2-1.
The Rams would advance all the way to the A-10 finals for the first time since 2005, where they lost to top-seeded Dayton University in penalty kicks. Though disappointed with how the historic season ended, Yee said that she was proud of how her teammates battled the entire tournament and that there wasn’t any more she could have asked for from them.
“It’s just a good feeling to know that you’ve left the program in a better place than where you started,” Yee said. “I think that’s something that sits really deeply with me, knowing that I made an impact and that impact was positive.”
While Yee thinks it would be enjoyable to continue playing soccer professionally, she believes that it’s time for a break after playing for 20 years and plans to start a new job in winter 2026.
