Carli Lloyd made history on Sunday after she became the first player to score in six consecutive Fifa Women’s World Cup matches during USA’s comfortable 3-0 win over Chile.
The margin of their victory was definitely not as comprehensive as the 13-0 drubbing of Thailand in their opener but a win ensured the defending champions of a place in the last 16.
Though not a regular starter nowadays, veteran Lloyd is among the three co-captains along with Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan and still one of their key players as USA look to claim back-to-back World Cup trophies for the first time in their history.
Here’s a more detailed look at Carli Lloyd’s profile:
Background
Lloyd was born in Delran Township, a small community-based in Southern New Jersey and began playing football at a young age of five. At high school she played for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 2001-’04 and just in her second year, she was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, considered to be the highest accolade for collegiate football players.
She ended her collegiate career as her school’s all-time goalscorer and also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and Sports Science.
A legend in her own right
No player other than Germany superstar Birgit Prinz had scored in five consecutive matches at the World Cup (2003) before Lloyd broke the record after her brace against Chile on Sunday.
One of the USA’s most accomplished player, Lloyd now has the third-most caps for her country at 276, tied along with Mia Hamm.
Besides that, she is also ranked fourth for most goals (110) and seventh in the list of highest career assists (53) for USA.
Big game player
Lloyd is no stranger to the big moments and she displayed that during their podium finish at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. Three years later, she led USA to their third World Cup title by becoming the first player to score a hat-trick in a Women’s World Cup final in a thumping 5-2 victory against Japan.
She eventually went on to win the Silver Boot award for her six goals and one assist along with racking up the Golden Ball Trophy as the best player of the tournament which were among the 13 individual awards she won that year.
Stellar club career
Lloyd has featured for a variety of clubs and first played for Central Jersey Splash and then South Jersey Banshees before the USL W-League shut shop. She later went on to play for Chicago Red Stars, Sky Blue FC and Atlanta Beat in the Women’s Professional Soccer league.
Following the rise of the National Women’s Soccer league in 2012, she signed for Western New York Flash which was followed by Houston Dash and Manchester City before she returned back to Sky Blue FC last year.
She is coming into the World Cup having netted just for times for her club last season and has been relegated to a super-sub role which she is not happy about.
“I’m trying to get off the bench,” she told ESPN earlier in May after the warm-up victory over New Zealand.
“If I liked coming off the bench, there would be something wrong. That’s not my mindset. I want to do everything I can to help this team. I’ve been sharp every single day in training, which none of you see, and just trying to be better every single day.
“People always say, ‘You’ve got this chip on your shoulder,’ [and it’s about] proving people wrong. To an extent, yes, but that’s who I am, that’s how I’m wired. I’m competitive with every single thing that I do … I’m going to be a train wreck, and I’m going to come through you. That’s just how I’ve been. I believe in myself every single step of the way,” she added.
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