Katie Meyer's memory is still on the minds of her Stanford teammates as they branch out into the world of professional and international soccer a year after Meyer's death.
On Friday, when the USWNT defeated Vietnam 3-0 in the opening round of the World Cup, Sophia Smith and Naomi Girma, both former Stanford players now on the biggest stage of their careers, honored the legacy of their former Cardinal teammate.
Girma's story was shared in The Players' Tribune, titled, "This Is For Katie." It attributed her successes to Meyer, going on to mention how the goalkeeper was a big piece of the puzzle in helping the defender heal from her ACL tear, and also one of her biggest supporters — Girma always wanted to play in a World Cup and Meyer believed she would. Meyer is definitely watching front row from the Heavens, full of pure pride for her friends right now.
Girma also wrote about a new partnership struck up with Common Goal, which will send out mental health professionals to youth sports organizations after the World Cup has ended in order to stock coaches and players with the appropriate mechanisms when someone is in need of help.
Smith, on the other hand, went a little authentic, using Meyer's iconic go-to celebratory gesture from the 2019 NCAA championship game between Stanford and North Carolina when she scored her second goal.
Girma and Smith had made a pact before the game that whoever scored would do "Katie's go-to" celebration "if one of us scored — probably her," Girma said, gesturing at Smith.
"It's just another way of us honoring her, like The Players' Tribune piece and a lot of players just speaking out on mental health," Grima added during a USWNT press conference. "We see this as an opportunity to shed light on a lot of the things that are important to us, and I think that's been something that's at the core of this team for so long. For us to come in now and carry on that legacy is something that's really important to us."
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Sophia Smith goal celebration
When Sophia Smith scored her second World Cup goal, she celebrated by putting a hand to her mouth, gesturing as if zipping her lips and throwing away the key.
The celebration mirrored one of the most iconic moments from Katie Meyer's playing career at Stanford.
Meyer did same celebration after saving a pair of penalty kicks in 2019 that won Stanford the NCAA title.
"That was pretty iconic what she did in the College Cup, and we just want to honor her in every way," Smith said.
Sophia Smith and Katie Meyer at Stanford
Sophia Smith and Katie Meyer attended Stanford together from 2018-2019. They had come in the same recruiting class, but Meyer was redshirted during their freshman season.
When Meyer returned in 2019, the Cardinals won the titles of Pac-12 and NCAA champions with her in goal and Smith in the attacking third.
Smith left after her sophomore season, getting drafted first overall in the 2020 NWSL College Draft by Portland Thorns FC — whom she still plays with to this day three years later.
What happened to Katie Meyer?
Katie Meyer died by suicide on March 1, 2022 while still a student and captain of the women's soccer team at Stanford. She was 22 years old.
Meyer's parents, Gina and Steve, gave an emotional interview to NBC days later explaining they did not notice signs their daughter was considering taking her own life.
"... We had no red flags," Gina said. "She was excited, she had a lot on her plate, she had a lot going on. But she was happy, she was in great spirits."
"She was the usual jovial Katie," Steve added.
Gina and Steve Meyer have since started an awareness campaign called "Katie's Save" devoted to reforming reporting procedures for collegiate students and student-athletes facing hardship, according to The Stanford Daily.
The drafted policy offers students the choice to opt into a system that would automatically notify a designated advocate when the student faces circumstances including disciplinary action, physical injury, substance abuse and academic probation.
Note: If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources
