There’s A New Captain In Town

Carli Lloyd celebrating her goal at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final

Yes. It’s Carli Lloyd. In the previous years, the captain for the USWNT was veteran player Christine Rampone. She was also known as Captain America because she was the best defender in the USWNT history. When she retired, there was only one question. Who will be the new captain? Jill Ellis, the USWNT head coach, took us by surprised, well at least me. Carli Lloyd was not my first choice, but it appeared to be the best one. I guess I am not fit to be an international soccer coach. The reason I was surprised is because Carli didn’t have good performances while Rampone was captain. Then, an unexpected twist happened. When Carli was named team captain, her performances improved by an unimaginable margin. She went from being “invisible” to scoring in almost every game and being named 2015 FIFA Player of the Year. It’s safe to say that she is indeed worthy of being the team captain.

Carli Lloyd was born and raised in Delran Township, New Jersey, about twenty minutes from Philadelphia. Like many other players, Carli started playing soccer at a young age. Even at that time, her mother said that she could see a future for Carli at the sport. “At that age, it was coed, and Carli was hanging with the boys. She always loved it and showed a great ability at an early age, but she also has always  worked very hard.”-Pamela Lloyd, Carli’s mom.

When she attended high school, more specifically Delran High School, from 1997-2000, she played under the tutelage of the late Rudy “The Red Baron” Koblach. Even at high school, she was already known for her exceptional ball control and skill at dispersing the ball from her position, midfield. During her senior year, as the captain of the team she lead them on a 18-3 record, while she scored 26 goals and served 8 assists.It was in high school when she started to get recognized by outside sources especially on the years 1999 and 2000. In both years, The Philadelphia Inquirer named her Girls’ High School Player of the Year, and she was also named to the Star-Ledge All-State First Team twice while receiving the Parade All-American honors. Additionally, in 2000 she was named the Courier Post Player of the Year and the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association Midfielder of the Year. Pffft, sounds so easy right? I bet you could do that in your sleep…

You know what comes after high school, want to guess where she attended college? Guess, it’s a Penn State rival in the Big Ten, and no it’s not Ohio State. She attended Rutgers. Even it college she made everything seem easy. She was named First-TEam All-Big East for four straight years- the first athlete at Rutgers to do so. She ended her collegiate career as the school’s all-time leader in points (117), goals (50), and shots. In 2013, she was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

Other interesting facts:

  • She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. In both cases, she scored the winning goal for the gold medal match.
  • She has a gold, silver and bronze medal in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
  • She was named 2015 FIFA Player of the Year.
  • She currently has an endorsement with Nike.
  • She is engaged to a golf professional player, Brian Hollis.
  • She was uncomfortable speaking in public, but had to overcame that when she joined the USWNT.

 

1 Comment on There’s A New Captain In Town

  1. Sarea Recalde Phillips
    April 20, 2016 at 11:52 am (8 years ago)

    As a coach, I wonder what characteristics they look for when selecting captains. Since the national team is so talented, it would be hard to select one based on skill alone. Carli was is exceptionally qualified in that respect, but the ability to step up her performance on the field after being selected as captain speaks towards her work ethic and how serious she takes her new role. It awesome to know that even at the professional level, athletes strive for more after being given a leadership role among their peers.

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