“Katie was extraordinarily committed to everything and everyone in her world,” Stanford vice provost for student affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and athletic director Bernard Muir said in a message on the university’s communications site.

​​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.

“… There are no words to express the emptiness that we feel at this moment. We are reaching out to all of you in our community, because this impacts all of us. Please know that you are not alone.”

Meyer captained the Cardinal and made two crucial saves in penalties to beat North Carolina and help Stanford capture the 2019 NCAA women’s soccer championship.

A senior from Burbank, Calif., she majored in international relations and minored in history.

“There are no words,” Katie’s sister, Samantha, wrote Wednesday in an Instagram post. “Thank you for all the kindness extended to my family. I’m not ready to post anything big yet. We are broken hearted and love Kat so much.”