A young woman who led Stanford University’s soccer team to a national championship was found dead on campus Tuesday, KTLA sister station KRON reported.
Katie Meyer, 22, was a star goalkeeper and team captain of the Stanford Women’s Soccer Team.
“It is with great sadness that we report that Katie Meyer, a senior majoring in International Relations and minoring in History, a Resident Assistant, and a team captain … has passed away,” Susie Brubaker-Cole, vice provost for student affairs, wrote in a message to the campus community Wednesday.
According to the Stanford Daily, students saw ambulances and law enforcement vehicles arrive at Meyer’s dorm room in Crothers Hall at 11 a.m. Tuesday.
University administrators are not yet releasing information on Meyer’s cause of death out of respect for her family’s privacy.
Meyer was known as a fiercely competitive and passionate student-athlete.
She made two critical saves in a penalty shootout against North Carolina to help Stanford win its third NCAA women’s soccer championship in 2019.
“Katie was a bright shining light for so many on the field,” Cole wrote. “Katie was extraordinarily committed to everything and everyone in her world. Her friends describe her as a larger-than-life team player in all her pursuits.”
Meyer once wrote that she decided to major in International Relations because it “changed my perspective on the world and the very important challenges that we need to work together to overcome.”
Meyer was born in Burbank.
She went to Newbury Park High School, where she was a trailblazer for women in sports. She used her soccer skills to become a starting kicker for the high school’s varsity football team.
In a 2020 interview with Just Women’s Sports, Meyer said, “There are girls everywhere who have been forced to say, ‘Oh, I’m a tomboy.’ No, you’re a strong girl. You’re a passionate girl, and that’s totally fine.”
“There’s no purer joy” than winning a championship, Meyer said.
“If there’s a day where I don’t feel that amount of joy after saving a PK in the championship game, I’ll stop playing. I’ll go to law school,” she told JWS.
Meyer is survived by her parents, Steven and Gina, and her two sisters, Samantha and Siena.
“We will continue to reach out and offer support to the many campus community members who knew her. There are no words to express the emptiness that we feel at this moment. Please know you are not alone. There are resources available to support us during this difficult time. We can all help by checking in on friends and loved ones,” Cole wrote. “Be caring to yourselves and one another. We will grieve this great loss together.”
Below are Meyer’s Stanford Athletics career highlights
- NCAA Champions (2019)
- Two-time Pac-12 Champions (2018-19)
- Two College Cup appearances (2018-19)
- 2019 College Cup All-Tournament team
- 2019 United Coaches All-West Region third team
- Two-time Pac-12 Fall Academic Honor Roll (2019, 2020-21)
- 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District 8
- Team Captain (2020, 2021, 2022)