Stanford University’s championship-winning soccer goalie Katie Meyer, who was found dead in her on-campus dorm room Tuesday, died by suicide, according to authorities.
Meyer, 22, a captain for the Cardinal women’s soccer team, was the starting goalkeeper for the national championship game for Stanford in 2019, helping the Cardinal beat North Carolina in its third NCAA women’s soccer title.
Meyer’s death was confirmed as “self-inflicted” on Friday by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office.
“She died by suicide,” Meyer’s mother Gina told NBC News’ TODAY, also on Friday. “The last couple days are like a parent’s worst nightmare and you don’t wake up from it. So it’s just horrific.”
The parents of Stanford University soccer star Katie Meyer are speaking out about her death by suicide with the hopes of helping other families. @stephgosk reports. https://t.co/hXTTpM7RWS pic.twitter.com/sPJReGPSD3
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Gina and Steve Meyer said they last spoke to their daughter a few hours before her death and believe Meyer got an email from the university about potential disciplinary action.
“Katie, being Katie, was defending a teammate on campus over an incident and the repercussions of her defending that teammate…” Steven said.
“She had been getting letters for a couple months,” Gina said. “This letter was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a trial or some kind of something. This was the only thing we can come up with that triggered something.”
“We are not able to share information about confidential student disciplinary matters,” said Stanford Assistant Vice President Dee Mostofi. “We as a university community continue to grieve with Katie’s family and cherish our memories of her.”
In an earlier statement about Meyer’s death, Stanford vice provost Susie Brubaker-Cole and athletic director Bernard Muir said: “Katie was extraordinarily committed to everything and everyone in her world. Her friends described 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.”
Muir continued in a tweet: “There are no words to express the deep sadness we feel about Katie Meyer’s passing. Katie was an outstanding student-athlete and a beloved, passionate leader here at Stanford. Our entire athletics community is heartbroken and Katie will be deeply missed.”
Meyer played for three seasons for the Cardinal, playing in 50 games, winning 34 matches, producing 20 shutouts and only allowing 35 goals. She was a team captain twice for Stanford and also named twice to the Pac-12’s academic honor roll. She started 19 out of Stanford’s 20 games during the fall and made 45 saves against 17 goals that were allowed. She majored in international relations and was minoring in history.
Meyer grew up in Newbury Park in Ventura County and was on the Newbury Park football team for two seasons as a kicker. Meyer chose to focus on soccer her senior year by opting to not play on the football team.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). The lifeline is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Staff writer Alex Simon contributed to this report.
Source: Orange County Register
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