Caroline Birkel
American soccer player (born 2006)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Caroline Nicole Birkel (born August 25, 2006) is an American college soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Stanford Cardinal.
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Birkel with Stanford in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Caroline Nicole Birkel[1] | ||
| Date of birth | August 25, 2006[1] | ||
| Place of birth | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Stanford Cardinal | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2025 | St. Louis Scott Gallagher | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Stanford Cardinal | 25 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022 | United States U-16 | ||
| 2025 | United States U-19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | United States U-20 | 9 | (0) |
| 2026– | United States U-23 | 2 | (0) |
| ‡ National team caps and goals as of 00:43, September 12, 2026 (UTC) | |||
Early life
Birkel was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Courtney and Mike Birkel, and has two brothers.[2] She played club soccer for St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC, leading the team to two ECNL national championships and being named ECNL All-American twice.[2] She attended Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, where she was a standout in field hockey.[3]
College career
Birkel enrolled early and began training with the Stanford Cardinal in the spring of 2025.[4] In the fall, she became the first true freshman goalkeeper to start for the Cardinal since Jane Campbell in 2013.[4] She helped lead the Cardinal to both the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular-season and tournament titles, stopping a penalty in the final shootout against Notre Dame.[5] In the NCAA tournament, she helped Stanford reach the final, losing to Florida State.[6] After her freshman season, she was named first-team All-ACC and the ACC Goalkeeper of the Year.[5] She was also presented the Chalupny Award given to the year's most outstanding female soccer player from the St. Louis area.[7]
International career
Birkel was one of two high school players (alongside Addison Halpern) named to the United States under-20 roster for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, serving as the third-stringer as the team won bronze.[8] She played every minute for the under-20s at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Poland, reaching the round of 16, but was unable to stop any penalties in their shootout loss to Brazil.[9]
Honors and awards
Stanford Cardinal
United States U-20
- FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup bronze medal: 2024
Individual
- ACC Goalkeeper of the Year: 2025
- First-team All-ACC: 2025
- Chalupny Award: 2025
