[STANFORD: Women] Stanford senior goalkeeper
Emily Oliver, a Soccer America Preseason All-American, has retired from soccer
because of a series of concussions, the latest of which was suffered against Portland on Aug. 31. The 2011 All-America and College Cup Defensive MVP, who never lost a regular-season match, retires
with the third-lowest goals-against average (0.36) on the all-time NCAA Division I list.
Oliver has had a series of concussions, including the latest against Portland on Aug. 31, which
has forced her to step away from the game.
The Flossmoor, Ill., native completes her career with the school-record goals-against average, breaking the Stanford standard of 0.45 held since
2004 by U.S. national team veteran
Nicole Barnhart.
“I’ve had a lot of concussions,” Oliver said. “So my risk is very high
now. Going through this process of deciding this direction, I can’t even put into words how helpful it has been to be with the team and all these girls that make it bearable. Honestly,
it’s a tribute to them that they can help me through this. I can’t even put words to it. They’ve really held me up and kept me going.”
A concussion suffered in the
spring of 2012 caused Oliver to miss the first seven matches of the 2012 season. But she recovered to post a 0.54 GAA and earn her second consecutive All-Pac-12 first-team honor.
“Emily’s personality encapsulates everything we do here at Stanford,” said goalkeepers coach
Jay Cooney. “She’s competitive, she
works hard, she never says die. She puts everything into everything that she does. To have her career cut short … it’s sad. It’s a sad moment for the whole program. But we’re
really trying to celebrate what she did in the three-plus years she was able to play, and it’s been remarkable. She set the benchmark for everyone on her team and the players to
follow.”
This season, Oliver started the first three matches and earned one shutout while posting a 0.70 GAA before a collision at the edge of the penalty area in the 51st minute of
a 1-1 draw against Portland caused her to leave the field for the final time.
“I’m very sad that Emily is having to retire at a young age,” Stanford head coach
Paul Ratcliffe said. “But she has accomplished so much at Stanford. She helped us win our national championship. She’s been a great leader for the
program, and I think she’ll continue to be a great leader until she graduates. She’s an unbelievable competitor, has amazing character and has been the foundation for the program for the
last four years. Emily will go down in the record books as one of the greatest goalkeepers ever to play at Stanford, and we have a tradition of having incredible goalkeepers.”
Other
goalkeepers at Stanford include freshman starter
Jane Campbell, one of the most heralded goalies to come out of the U.S. girls national team program in recent
years.