Carli Lloyd

Carli Lloyd

Lloyd at a match against Canada in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Carli Anne Lloyd
Date of birth	July 16, 1982 (1982-07-16)
Place of birth	Delran, New Jersey, United States
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Atlanta Beat
Number	10
Youth career
2001–2004	Rutgers Scarlet Knights
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999	Central Jersey Splash
2000	New Brunswick Power
2001	South Jersey Banshees
2004	New Jersey Wildcats	1	(1)
2009	Chicago Red Stars	16	(2)
2010	Sky Blue FC	5	(0)
2011–	Atlanta Beat	10	(2)
National team‡
	United States U-21
2005–	United States	127	(35)
Honours Competitor for United States Women's Football Gold 2008 Beijing Team World Cup medal record Bronze 2007 China Team Silver 2011 Germany Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 28, 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of March 2, 2012

Carli Anne Lloyd (born July 16, 1982 in Delran, New Jersey) is an American soccer midfielder currently playing for the Atlanta Beat of Women's Professional Soccer and is a member of the United States women's national soccer team.

Early life and education

Lloyd grew up in Delran, New Jersey and played high school soccer at Delran High School.

Lloyd attended Rutgers University. While enrolled, she was a student-athlete who played for Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's soccer team from 2001 through 2004. She was coached by Glenn Crooks and was named First-Team All-Big East for four straight years. She was also named the 2001 Big East Rookie of the Year and the 2004 Big East Midfielder of the Year.

Career

For her United States women's national team (USWNT) career, Lloyd has 124 caps with 34 goals.

Professional clubs

While still in high school, Lloyd played for W-League sides Central Jersey Splash in 1999, New Brunswick Power in 2000, and South Jersey Banshees in 2001. Before her senior year at Rutgers, Lloyd played for New Jersey Wildcats in 2004, on the same team as Kelly Smith, Manya Makoski, Tobin Heath, and Heather O'Reilly. She made only one appearance for the club.

With the return of top-flight professional soccer for women to the United States in Women's Professional Soccer, Lloyd's playing rights were allocated to Chicago Red Stars in 2008. In the inaugural 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season, she made 16 appearances (14 starts, 1313 total minutes) for Chicago and scored two goals and recorded an assist. Following the conclusion of the season, Lloyd was declared a free agent. She subsequently signed with hometown club and 2009 Champions Sky Blue FC for the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer season. In 2010 she signed with the Atlanta Beat.

National team

Lloyd made her first appearance for the U.S. national team on July 10, 2005, against Ukraine. Her first international goal came on October 1, 2006, against Taiwan. At the 2006 Four Nations Tournament Lloyd won a third cap. She earned the first two starts of her career at the 2006 Algarve Cup, gaining a place in the starting 11 against Denmark and in the championship game against Germany. She played in 19 games, starting 13, and scored one goal.

Lloyd played for the national Under-21 team before making the jump to the senior team. She appeared in the Nordic Cup four times between 2002 and 2005, winning titles in 2002 in Finland, in Denmark in 2003, in Iceland in 2004 and in Sweden in 2005. She scored three times in the 2005 Nordic Cup, including two against Denmark and one in the championship against Norway. She had two goals and an assist, starting every match, at the 2004 Nordic Cup. She assisted on the lone goal in the USA’s 1-0 win against Denmark in the first round of the 2003 Nordic Cup.

2007 World Cup

Lloyd established herself in a starting role in midfield. After scoring once in her first 24 matches, she scored four goals, one in each game, at the 2007 Algarve Cup, earning tournament top scorer and MVP honors. She scored her sixth career goal on a diving header in the USA’s 1-0 victory against Norway on July 14 and then registered her first two-goal game in a 6-1 win against New Zealand on August 12, including one blast from 38 yards. Lloyd started 13 of the 23 matches she played and played in her first FIFA Women's World Cup tournament, starting three (all in the first round) of the five games she played in which the United States came in third. She finished third on the team in scoring, with nine goals and three assists.

2008 Olympics

Lloyd was named the U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year as she was a fixture in the midfield for the USA starting all 35 games in which she played, tying for the team lead in matches started during the year. She finished third on the team in minutes played with 2,781 and had her best scoring year for the WNT, finding the net nine times with nine assists. Lloyd scored two goals during the 2008 Olympics, scoring the winner in the 1-0 victory against Japan in group play, and then scored the game-winner in the overtime final victory against Brazil. She had also scored against Canada in the championship game of Olympic qualifying on a dramatic free-kick in overtime and scored the winning goal in a 3-2 stoppage time victory against Australia on April 27, in Cary, N.C. She scored in both of the USA’s matches in Scandinavia, against Norway and Sweden. 2008 was the year in which Lloyd became a star for the US and a playmaker for the midfield.

2009

2009 saw the US taking a break after the 3rd place World Cup finish and Gold Medal run in the Olympics. They competed in eight games, of which Lloyd started in five.

2010

Lloyd suffered a broken ankle in the 4th game of the WPS season while playing for Sky Blue FC. She still played in 15 matches for the USA however, starting 14 of them. She scored three goals with five assists and earned her 100th career cap in the final game of the year against Italy during the second leg of the FIFA Women’s World Cup playoff series. She scored against Germany in the Algarve Cup final and started all five games at the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament, scoring two goals, including the US's lone goal in the championship match. She ended the tournament with five assists and was named the player of the match three times for the tournament completing her comeback from injury. She played every minute of both legs of the playoff series against Italy.

2011 Women's World Cup

2011 saw the US team making World Cup preparations and training starting with the 2011 Four Nations Tournament. Lloyd scored the lone goal for the US in the opening match loss to Sweden. In the championship match the US defeated Canada 2-0 with Lloyd scoring the 1st goal and being named player of the match. In the 2011 Algarve Cup, Lloyd scored three goals including the 1st goal in the championship match; subsequently named best goal for the tournament. She was named player of the match for the 2nd time in the tournament. At the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup she scored the final goal in a 3-0 win against Colombia for her 1st World Cup goal. For the tournament she tallied two assists, one goal, and one successful penalty kick in the shootout against Brazil to send the USWNT to the semifinals vs. France. In the World Cup final, the U.S. lost the game to Japan in a penalty shootout after finishing the game tied 2-2.

2012

The USWNT opened 2012 with the Olympic Qualifiers in Vancouver, Canada. The US was placed in Group B with the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, and Mexico. In the first match the US routed the DR by a score of 14-0 with Lloyd tallying one goal and one assist. In the 2nd match, the US again routed their opponent Guatemala by a score of 13-0 with Lloyd again finding the back of the net and providing another assist. The game to win the group and thus play the 2nd place team from Group A occurred between the US and Mexico. This game was highly anticipated and viewed as revenge for the US as they had lost to Mexico, 2-1 to qualify for the World Cup. This time, the US beat Mexico 4-0 with Lloyd netting her first career hat trick. She was subsequently named player of the match for the first time in 2012. In the semi-final game to qualify for the Olympics, the US faced Costa Rica. The game was uncoordinated for much of the 1st half despite the US being a goal ahead. In the 2nd half, the US found their rhythm and netted two more goals, the first coming from Lloyd. The US beat Costa Rica 3-0 with Lloyd named player of the match for the 2nd game in a row. In the final versus Canada, the US played relaxed and possessed the ball easily beating Canada at home 4-0 to go to the Olympic as the CONCACAF champions. Lloyd finished the tournament with six goals and three assists and tied for the team lead in goals scored.

External links

• Carli Lloyd – FIFA competition record
• Official website
• US Soccer player profile
• Sky Blue FC player profile
• New Jersey Wildcats player profile