Stanford soccer player who was found dead in campus residence died by suicide

A Stanford soccer player who was found dead in a campus residence died by suicide, her parents said on NBC’s “Today Show” Friday.

Stanford University soccer captain and goalkeeper Katie Meyer was found dead on campus Tuesday.

“She died by suicide,” said Gina Meyer, Katie Meyer’s mother. “The last couple days are like a parent’s worst nightmare and you don’t wake up from it. So it’s just horrific.” 

She said she and Katie Meyer’s father, Steven Meyer, are still shocked at their daughter’s death and trying to understand what happened.

They said they believed the Stanford student received an email about disciplinary action she may be facing from the school for an incident that happened on campus.

“Katie, being Katie, was defending a teammate on campus over an incident and the repercussions of her defending that teammate [were possibly resulting in disciplinary action,” Steven Meyer said on “Today.”

“We have not seen that email yet,” Gina Meyer said. “She had been getting letters for a couple months. This letter was kind of the final letter that there was going to be a trial or some kind of something. This is the only thing that we can come up with that triggered something.”

Stanford said in a statement that “we are not able to share information about confidential student disciplinary matters. We as a university community continue to grieve with Katie’s family and cherish our memories of her,” according to Today.

Meyer was responsible for two saves that helped the school secure its third NCAA women’s soccer championship in 2019.

“The thoughts and hearts of the entire U.S. Soccer Federation are with the family, friends, teammates and loved ones of Katie Meyer,” U.S. Women’s Soccer said on Twitter after her death was announced.