The Women’s World Cup Final was all but over after just fifteen minutes.
Many thought the game would be a competitive affair, but the United States Women’s National Team had other ideas, scoring four goals in a quarter of an hour. In fact, the showpiece finale quickly became the Carli Lloyd Show.
“It’s been a long journey, my career,” Lloyd said in the team’s post-match news conference. “I’ve had people believe in me, been in my corner from day one. … I’ve dedicated my whole life to this. Everything comes second.”
Lloyd struck twice in the opening five minutes, both goals dispatched from close range to give the U.S. an early lead.
A miscued clearance allowed midfielder Lauren Holiday to
volley in a third U.S. goal in the 14th minute. Two minutes later, Lloyd completed her hat trick in the grandest way imaginable.
She spotted goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori off her line and made
Japan pay.
Lloyd unleashed her shot from the halfway line. Kaihori backpedaled furiously but couldn’t get a strong enough hand on the ball to divert Lloyd’s effort to safety.
“I’ve dreamed of scoring a shot like that,” Lloyd said. “I did it once when I was a little bit younger on the national team in a training environment. But very rarely do you just wind up and hit it. When you’re feeling good mentally, physically, those plays just are instincts and it just
happens.”
Lloyd further cemented her place as a big-time, clutch performer with said hat trick (the first in Women’s World Cup Final history). She also scored the decisive goals in the Gold medal matches at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Japan didn’t go away quietly, netting just before the half hour mark and again on a Julie Johnston own goal early in the second half.
But midfielder Tobin Heath’s goal in the 54th minute removed any grain of doubt, putting an exclamation point on a dominant performance.
When the final whistle blew, the U.S. was able to celebrate its first World Cup title since 1999, becoming the first team to be crowned champion three times.
The players collected their medals, and Lloyd also collected the Golden Ball, given to the tournament’s best player. She finished with six goals and an assist, scoring in each round of the knockout stage.
Performances like Lloyd’s are rare. What she did is one of those stories you’ll tell your grandkids about — if you’re a sports fan. It’s hard to put into words, but it was one of those times you just knew what you were watching was
truly special.
It was an all-time great performance on the tail-end of several solid performances. When the U.S. desperately needed a spark going forward in previous rounds, Lloyd stepped up. She did it again Sunday on the biggest stage of all.
“I don’t think it’s entirely sunk in,” Lloyd said. “…I’m so proud and so zapped at the same time. It’s a surreal moment, and it’s been amazing. We just wrote history today and brought this World Cup trophy home, which is unbelievable. But at the end of the day, I’ve pushed on my status a little bit, and I have to stay up here. Not right away, but I’ll be back to work and back stronger than
ever.”
Jack Woods is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Ruston, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter
@Jack_TDR.