Carli Lloyd

Arguably one of the most talented players in the history of women's soccer in the United States, Carli Lloyd scored the winning goals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and dominated the FIFA World Cup for three years with her speed, agility and record-breaking goals. Born Carli Anne Lloyd in Delran Township, New Jersey on July 16, 1982, she showed an aptitude for soccer at an early age, and earned Player of the Year laurels from various local newspapers throughout her high school years. She entered Rutgers University in 2001, and quickly established herself as a leading scorer, earning 12 or more goals per season for her entire four years with the Scarlet Knights. Lloyd was eventually named the school's all-time leader in goals, with 50 to her name, as well as shots and points. During this period, Lloyd also played with the U.S. Junior National team, which captured the Nordic Cup four consecutive times between 2002 and 2005. She was briefly cut from the team, which made her consider leaving soccer altogether, but with the help of Australian coach James Galanis, she honed her game and eventually joined the women's national soccer team in 2005. There, she became a key member of the organization, scoring nine goals between 2005 and 2007, and made game-winning goals against Japan and Brazil to secure the gold for the women's team at the 2008 Olympics. For her efforts, Lloyd was named the 2008 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year. She returned to the United States to play for the Chicago Red Stars, but was kept out of play for most of 2010 due to a broken ankle. Upon recovering, she signed with the Atlanta Beat, which she helped to lead to first place at the end of 2011. Lloyd returned to the women's national team that same year, but the reunion was bittersweet: she discovered that she had been demoted to a backup position. But an injury suffered by teammate Shannon Boxx returned her to the starting lineup, and after capturing the FIFA Women's World Cup and Algarve Cup, Lloyd scored both goals to defeat Japan and win the goal medal at the 2012 Olympics in London. In doing so, she became the only player of either gender in the history of soccer to score the game-wining goal in two separate gold-winning Olympic games. The following year, she scored her 46th international goal, which gave her the highest number of goals in the history of U.S. women's soccer, and led the Western New York Flash to the championships that same year. By the time of the 2015 FIFA World Cup, Lloyd was the captain of the national women's team, and wowed the international media by scoring a hat trick in the first 16 minutes of the final against Japan. Her efforts would help the U.S. team gain their third World Cup title, and gained her a slew of international titles, including FIFA World Player of the Year and the Women's Sports Foundation's Sportswoman of the Year Team Sport Award.