Meet Carli Lloyd, the Golden Girl of U.S. Soccer

Update 7/6/15: The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Japan 5-2 on July 5 to earn its third World Cup title. Carli Lloyd scored three goals in the first 16 minutes of the match to lead the U.S. to victory. She also received the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.

In case you missed it, United States captain Carli Lloyd scored the first goal (penalty kick) in the semifinals on Tuesday against Germany. She followed that up with an assist to teammate Kelly O’Hara to lead her team to a 2-0 victory.

The U.S. advanced to Sunday’s World Cup finals.

“It’s a dream come true. This is what we’re training for—the blood, sweat and tears are for this. This is a great game,” Lloyd said in a television interview following the United States’ semifinal victory on June 30. “But my eyes are on the final.’’

Carli Lloyd

Olympic-Sized Success

This isn’t the first time she’s stepped up when it mattered most. In the 2008 Olympics, Lloyd was the one mobbed by teammates after scoring her first gold-medal-winning goal in overtime against Brazil. It made Carli the 2008 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year.

Of course, that’s not where her career ended. In the 2012 Olympics Carli scored the winning goal in her team’s first match and added a goal against Colombia later in the tournament. Then there was the gold-medal game against Japan. Carli scored both U.S. goals, writing her name in the record books.

Keys to Victory

Some of Carli’s most remarkable traits are her unwavering determination, hard work and focus. In fact, she takes it so seriously that she won’t allow her fiancé or family to be in the stands at the World Cup.

We all like to celebrate with someone when they succeed, but all of her game-winning goals don’t tell the whole story. The buildup to these moments was filled with obstacles overcome and failures turned into lessons.

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“You don’t learn if things are going well,” Carli says. “You learn from the obstacles and looking at the positives—as hard as that is.”

Carli LloydShe almost quit the U.S. under-21 team. Competing with other stars for the first time was almost too hard. But she found a mentor and trainer who helped her refocus on soccer. Carli credits him with transforming her game on and off the field.

There were injuries—like the broken ankle in 2010—missed shots, tough losses, and setbacks. But Carli came out stronger. “I just keep fighting and fighting and raising the bar and exceed limits that don’t even exist yet,” she says.

Carli joined Team USANA as an Ambassador in 2014. Be sure to watch her lead the U.S. Women’s National Team in the finals on Sunday.

*The mentioned athlete is either a distributor or dedicated user who has received compensation for her partnership and/or complimentary USANA products.

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1 reply
  1. Angie Larsen
    Angie Larsen says:

    Dave… This article is amazing! So excited to cheer on Carli and Team USA in the World Cup Finals. Proof positive right here that elite athletes choose USANA.

    Reply

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