Stanford goalkeeper Katie Meyer remembered at memorial service as a 'total spitfire of energy'

NEWBURY PARK, Calif. – Yes, there was talk of how Katie Meyer helped lift the Stanford women’s soccer team to the 2019 national championship with her remarkable saves. But hundreds of people who gathered Saturday night for a memorial service for the late Stanford goalkeeper also heard about one of the lesser-known and earliest saves of her stellar career.

It took place in her backyard.

She was about 6 – and playing goalkeeper, of course – when her father, Steve, took a shot.

"I kicked it a little too hard at my little Katie," Steve Meyer recalled. "And it hit her in the chest and it knocked her down. I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, Gina (his wife) is going to be so mad at me.'

"Katie gets up and goes, ‘Is that all you got?' " 

Laughter rippled through the crowd during a service inside the Newbury Park High School football stadium, the same turf where Katie Meyer also had played soccer. There were tears, too.

Meyer was found dead March 2 in her dorm room at Crothers Hall, a campus residence at Stanford. Her death was ruled a suicide.

She was 22.

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But on a chilly night near her family’s home in Southern California, the focus was not on how she died, but who Meyer was and how she lived.

She was the talented and sometimes cocky goalkeeper, but clearly more than that. She loved the "Lion King," "Star Wars" and butterflies. Had a butterfly tattoo, in fact, and a penchant for singing near, if not at, the top of her lungs. Adored her older sister, Samantha, and younger sister, Siena, and had a sister-like bond with many of her former teammates at Stanford who were in attendance Saturday night.

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Her passion for life, humor and leadership were common themes – and sometimes blended together. Such as for the annual water-balloon fight between the women’s and men’s soccer teams at Stanford, recalled teammate Abby Greubel.

It was their sophomore season. Meyer, who had an interest in military history, took command.

"She gathered everyone into our dorm lounge around a huge white board with an expo marker in one hand and a pointing stick in the other," Greubel said. "She led us through all types of strategies, drawing each of them on the board. She addressed their potential weaknesses to plot how we would take down the boys.

"We laughed uncontrollably, but we also knew that if we were going to believe in anyone’s plan, it would be Katie’s. Before we knew it, we were dressed in black, we had a team slogan, we were chanting through the halls of our dorms as we prepared for what we called war.

"I will admit, despite the hours of planning, we still got destroyed. But regardless, we truly had the best time."

Paul Ratcliffe, head coach of the Stanford women’s soccer program, described Meyer as an extension of the coaching staff.

"I remember her giving a pregame speech before a game at Arizona State while my staff and I waited outside the locker room," he said. "We could hear her through the wall, encouraging the team with a passionate speech.

"The speech lasted for at least 10 minutes. And I remember entering the locker room thinking to myself, 'What else can I say?' I couldn’t top Katie. I was speechless."

As her coach noted, Meyer was at her best for the big games. Such as the 2019 national championship, when she made two saves in the penalty kick shootout, helping lift Stanford to a 5-4 victory over North Carolina.

"She came into this world a spitfire, a total spitfire of energy," said Meyer’s mother, Gina. "Fierce, fearless, a twinkle of mischief in her eye at all times.

"She had her swagger on the pitch. She showboated, in the goal, on the rails, whatever she could do. Sometimes I was a little embarrassed. A little. I’d be like, 'Katie, tone it down a bit.'

"But that was her. Katie was totally, unapologetically, herself. Unapologetically, full-on Katie, and I loved her for her."

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time day or night, or chat online.

Crisis Text Line also provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.