Carli Lloyd Writing Her Own Legend as USWNT Moves into Women’s World Cup Final

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: July 1, 2015

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Before the current Women's World Cup even started, Carli Lloyd's place in American soccer history was already secure. A 10-year veteran of the United States national team, the 32-year-old midfielder was best known as a big-game player who scored the winning goals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold-medal matches.

Big Game Carli turned up again Tuesday night, scoring the winner and setting up the other goal as the U.S. defeated top-ranked Germany in the World Cup semifinals. But after this latest star turn, Lloyd is on the verge of something else entirely. By scoring in three straight knockout games and guiding the Americans back to the World Cup final, she is staking her claim to a status much more prestigious than just that of a big-game player.

As of now, she's on the verge. With another performance like the last one, the Americans will be world champions and Lloyd will be a legend.

Lloyd won't ever score as many goals as Abby Wambach, her longtime teammate, nor will she cross over into the mainstream to be the star that Mia Hamm became in 1999. But her habit of producing the goods in big games has earned her recognition as a clutch player.



That habit delivered Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, but the World Cup represents something else entirely. The World Cup is the most important tournament in international soccer, and Lloyd's heroics have put the U.S. within one more win of an unprecedented third title.

Not that she has done it alone. Megan Rapinoe and Hope Solo starred in the opener. Meghan Klingenberg made the game-saving clearance against Sweden. Even Lloyd's individual success in the past two games was a direct result of the addition of Morgan Brian to the U.S. midfield. But once Brian arrived and freed Lloyd to be Lloyd, the results have been impressive.



Against a stubborn China side in the quarterfinals, Lloyd scored the game's only goal with a beautifully t...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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