At 24 years old, Keira Goerl still feels too young to be admired in the same way that she idolized former Olympian and University of California, Los Angeles, pitcher Lisa Fernandez. But Goerl, a former UCLA pitcher herself and current assistant softball coach at California Polytechnic State University, probably should get used to the idea.

In the 2003 Women’s College World Series championship game, Goerl pitched a nine-inning no-hitter — something that had never been done before and hasn’t been done since. While that accomplishment alone is enough to warrant respect, many in the softball world believe the performance had a ripple effect on the sport itself, drawing more fans and helping to increase popularity.

The accomplishment was selected as one of the NCAA’s Top 25 Defining Moments.

Goerl remembers the impact that game had on UCLA, particularly its senior class, since it was in danger of being the only one to graduate without a title. The seniors on that team included future Olympic Gold Medalists Natasha Watley and Tairia (Mims) Flowers. Goerl, then a junior, said the pressure to perform was intense.

“I remember I went out there and played for them, played unselfishly,” she said. “I gave it all I had.”

In the end, UCLA defeated the defending champions from the University of California, Berkeley, 1-0, and Goerl was named the most outstanding player of the tournament. She pitched all 47 innings of the tournament for UCLA and broke UCLA’s single-season victories record (which had been shared by Fernandez and Courtney Dale), finishing the season with 40 wins.

Goerl said she never reached such a strong rhythm in the championship game that she knew no one would be able to hit her — but, she added, “that’s always what you want.” She had pitched a no-hitter (and 14 one-hitters) earlier in the season, but getting it done in the championship game was a special thrill. But even after the game, she was humble about the accomplishment.

“It wasn’t about me,” she said in postgame interviews. “It was about the defense behind me that picked me up a number of times.”

She said she understands now why that game and her performance are remembered and honored. After all, the only way to improve on an extra-inning no-hitter would be to pitch a perfect game.

“I think it’s something that everybody strives for and not something everybody can achieve,” she said. “It’s never been done before, especially at that level.”

Brian McCall, director of communications for the Amateur Softball Association, said that game and Goerl’s part in it definitely deserve to be honored among the great accomplishments for collegiate athletes.

“The dominance Keira displayed with that game ... anytime something special like that happens, people take notice,” McCall said. “The rarity of it makes it special.”

UCLA Sports Information Director Marc Dellins, who nominated Goerl’s performance to be one of the top 25 moments, remembers that the game was shown on ESPN during prime time, simply because of an earlier programming delay.

“It was delayed, I think, because Roger Clemens was pitching that day (in a game ESPN chose to televise),” Dellins said. “It was the first time (the championship game was) in prime time, and we went into extra innings. For us, we beat the defending national champions and were able to maintain our streak of every softball student-athlete winning a national championship at least once in their career.”

In the two years since Goerl’s no-hitter, ESPN has aired the Women’s College World Series championship series in prime time, including the 2004 championship in which Goerl was back on the mound against California. She is only the third pitcher in Division I history to be the winning pitcher in more than one title game.

McCall said the excitement of Goerl’s performance helped push ESPN toward ushering the Women’s College World Series into permanent prime-time slots.

“The way she did it, and the domination she showed, that kind of set a buzz across the country for a lot of the kids who were watching,” McCall said. “The coverage of softball has just grown over the years, and anytime something like that happens, it brings some attention to the sport.”

After the no-hitter, Goerl played with the U.S. National Team at the Pan-Am games in the summer of 2003, winning the gold medal. In six appearances with Team USA (three starts), Goerl was 3-0 with 15 strikeouts and one shutout.

Goerl points to Fernandez as her role model and idol because of the work ethic she witnessed when Fernandez was training. Fernandez inspired her mentally and  physically.

“She was the best in the game. She still continues to work hard — she was always pitching or riding the bike and I thought, ‘Wow, no wonder she’s the best,’ ” Goerl said. “To get that good, you have to put in the time, you have to work really hard to maintain or even get to that level.”

Now that she’s coaching, Goerl hopes to instill the same work ethic in her own players. Coaching has provided her a different perspective, she said, and she often thinks about how she might have been different as a player if she knew then what she knows now.

“Now I know what my coach was talking about,” she said. “I want to give them the same advice that I got: Know who you are and how you got here. All your hard work is going to pay off. It’s your foundation. You wouldn’t be as good as you are if you didn’t put in the hard work. It didn’t happen overnight.”