Carli Lloyd

Carli Lloyd

Carli Lloyd of the United States Women's National Soccer team at a friendly against Canada in 2011
Personal information
Full name	Carli Anne Lloyd
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	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)
International career‡
	United States U-21
2005–	United States	118	(28)
Medal record Representing United States Women's Football 2008 Beijing Team World Cup medal record 2007 China Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of June 28, 2011 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 July 2011

Carli Anne Lloyd (born 16 July 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.

Playing career

Early life

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

College

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.

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 1 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 2 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 10 July 2005, against Ukraine. Her first international goal came on 1 October 2006, against Taiwan. Earned her third career cap at the 2006 Four Nations Tournament. 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 U-21 team before making the jump to the senior team. She appeared in the Nordic Cup four times between 2002 and 2005. A member of four U-21 Nordic Cup championships teams, 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 assisting on the lone goal in the USA’s 1-0 win against Denmark in the first round of the 2003 Nordic Cup.

In 2007, she 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 Aug. 12, including one blast from 38 yards. Lloyd started 13 of the 23 matches she played and played in her first 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. Had nine goals and three assists to finish third on the team in scoring.

In 2008, 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. 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. 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 victory against Brazil. 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 SwedenIn the 2008 Summer Olympics. 2008 was the year in which Lloyd played well for the US and a became a playmaker for the US midfield.

2009 saw the US taking a break after the 3rd place World Cup finish and Gold Medal run in the Olympics. They competed in 8 games and Carli started in 5. She did not practice enough penalty kicks in this time off however.

In 2010 Lloyd suffered a broken ankle in the 4th game of the WPS season while play for Sky Blue FC. This injury may have led to an inability to correctly take penalty kicks. 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 woman of the match 3 times for the tournament completing her comeback from injury. She played every minute of both legs of the playoff series against Italy.

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 woman of the match. In the 2011 Algarve Cup, Lloyd scored 3 goals including the 1st goal in the championship match and it was subsequently named best goal for the tournament and she was named woman 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 2 assists, 1 goal, and 1 pk in the shootout against Brazil to send the USWNT to the semifinals vs. France. In the World Cup final Carli played her worst soccer of the tournament. In a game that went to overtime penalty shoot out, Carli missed a crucial penalty kick which would have tied the game at that point. Her shot soared over the cross bar, and she immediately covered her mouth in dismay. The U.S. lost the game to Japan.

For her USWNT career, Lloyd has 119 caps with 28 goals.

External links

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