Stanford Goalie Katie Meyer Dies at Age 22; Member of 2019 NCAA Championship Team

Stanford University announced Wednesday that Katie Meyer, a goalkeeper and captain for the Stanford women's soccer team, died Tuesday. She was 22. 

Her cause of death has not been publicly announced, but the university said she died in a campus residence. 

Stanford's vice provost for student affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and athletic director Bernard Muir provided a statement about Meyer:

"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, from choosing an academic discipline she said 'changed my perspective on the world and the very important challenges that we need to work together to overcome' to the passion she brought to the Cardinal women's soccer program and to women's sports in general."

Meyer famously made two saves in a penalty shootout against North Carolina in the 2019 women's soccer championship, helping the Cardinal win the title. 

Meyer spoke to Haley Rosen of Just Women's Sports in 2020 about her viral celebration:

"That moment meant so much to me because of my journey leading up to it. My reaction came from all the work that went into that championship and all the joy I have for the sport. You're looking at a girl who was cut from her first club team, who didn’t make the U17s World Cup roster a few years ago, redshirted last year. You have all these ups and downs in your soccer career and then you get the big yes, and you know this is exactly what you are supposed to be doing. There's no purer joy."

The redshirt senior from Newbury Park, California, was 34-12-4 in her career as Stanford's goalie, making 112 saves across three seasons with a 0.72 goals-against average and a 0.76 save percentage.