--- description: Carli Lloyd's penalty, and perfect pass to second goal-scorer Kelly O'Hara, ensure a crucial U.S. victory. title: America, Meet Your Newest Sports Hero Carli Lloyd image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc1ead7a34b306ab/69885938a988cabf9d6b3494/gettyimages-4790786001.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [World Cup](/tag/world-cup/) ## World Cup Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # America, Meet Soccer Star Carli Lloyd, Your Newest Sports Hero  by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2015 2:58 AM CUT  Carli Lloyd celebrates setting up Kelly O'Hara's goal in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 Semi-Final Match at Olympic Stadium on June 30, 2015 in Montreal, Canada. Carli Lloyd celebrates setting up Kelly O'Hara's goal in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 Semi-Final Match at Olympic Stadium on June 30, 2015 in Montreal, Canada.Minas Panagiotakis—Getty Images  by [Sean Gregory](/author/sean-gregory/)  ## Sean Gregory Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Jul 1, 2015 2:58 AM CUT Going into this year’s women’s World Cup, certain U.S. players stole the spotlight. Abby Wambach, the world’s all-time leading international goal scorer, trying to win her first World Cup in the twilight of her career. Forward Alex Morgan, heir to Mia Hamm. Goaltender Hope Solo, for all the [off-field controversies](http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2015/06/07/hope-solo-controversy-police-report/28645755/ "undefined"). But step aside, ladies. For this World Cup is now Carli Lloyd’s. Lloyd, a two-time Olympic gold medal winner making her third World Cup appearance, is no stranger to soccer fans. But for the millions of more casual viewers tuning into America’s quest for its first World Cup since 1999, she’s now a water-cooler fixture. Lloyd has scored a goal in each of Team USA’s knockout-round victories on the way to the World Cup final, which will be played on July 5, when the U.S. will face the winner of Wednesday’s Japan-England semifinal. Against Germany in Tuesday night’s semifinal, Lloyd’s second-half penalty kick gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead. Later, Lloyd stayed patient while dribbling in the goal box, waiting until Kelley O’Hara was in position to take her perfect pass and boot the insurance goal into the net. U.S. 2, Germany 0. So America, if you’re not already invested in the World Cup, meet Carli Lloyd. A few quick essentials: 1\. Lloyd has a history of shining in big moments: _Sports Illustrated_ put her on the [cover](http://cdn-jpg.si.com/sites/default/files/2015/06/04/lloydcover.jpg "undefined") of its World Cup preview, with the tagline: “She’s Got Clutch.” No cover jinx in this World Cup — far from it. Lloyd scored the gold-medal winning goals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. All this bodes well for Team USA’s chances on Sunday. 2\. Her ex-Team USA coach, Pia Sundhage, dissed Lloyd in a _New York Times_ [profile](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/sports/soccer/for-pia-sundhage-swedens-itinerant-coach-its-old-home-week.html?%5Fr=1 "undefined") that ran earlier in the World Cup. --- > “” --- But so, so good. If coaching Lloyd, 32, has been a challenge, it’s certainly been worth any headaches. Lloyd called Sundhage’s comments “confusing.” America and Sweden played to a 0-0 draw during the knockout stage of this year’s World Cup. 3\. Lloyd, who grew up in southern New Jersey and attended Rutgers University, credits a lot of her success to training with a former Australian pro player named James Galanis, described by the [_Wall Street Journal_](http://www.wsj.com/articles/what-carli-lloyd-means-to-the-u-s-womens-world-cup-soccer-team-1433439553 "undefined") as “paunchy and bespectacled,” and someone who “comes off like a wizard instructor from the Harry Potter films.” Lloyd was supposed to take a ski trip with some friends while she was at Rutgers; Galanis told her if she was serious about making the US team, she had to skip the vacation. To the cheers of many Americans, Lloyd put in the work. All that’s left is a World Cup win. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3942657/soccer-star-carli-lloyd-world-cup-football-sports-hero/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3942657/soccer-star-carli-lloyd-world-cup-football-sports-hero/"},"headline":"America, Meet Soccer Star Carli Lloyd, Your Newest Sports Hero","datePublished":"2015-07-01T02:58:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T08:41:27.657Z","description":"Her penalty, and perfect pass to second goal-scorer Kelly O'Hara, ensure a crucial U.S. victory in soccer's World Cup","url":"https://time.com/3942657/soccer-star-carli-lloyd-world-cup-football-sports-hero/","keywords":["World Cup","Japan","england","Germany","Team USA","Soccer","Women's World Cup"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc1ead7a34b306ab/69885938a988cabf9d6b3494/gettyimages-4790786001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sean Gregory","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/sean-gregory/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc1ead7a34b306ab/69885938a988cabf9d6b3494/gettyimages-4790786001.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"GettyImages-479078600","caption":"in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015 Semi-Final Match at Olympic Stadium on June 30, 2015 in Montreal, Canada.","creditText":"Minas Panagiotakis—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/world-cup/","name":"World Cup"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3942657/soccer-star-carli-lloyd-world-cup-football-sports-hero/","name":"America, Meet Soccer Star Carli Lloyd, Your Newest Sports Hero"}}]}] ```