Carli Lloyd on USWNT and Hall of Fame honor: ‘I played purely for the love of the game’

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Two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Carli Lloyd will soon be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, and she is not downplaying the moment.

“I never imagined something like this would happen,” Lloyd said Tuesday, a little more than two weeks before her May 3 induction at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Behind her hung a U.S. women’s national team jersey with the No. 316 — her number of appearances in her nearly two decades with the team.

“My career was not one that was meant to go the way that it went, and I was never really the next best thing, but I just grinded away,” she said. “So to be inducted into the Hall of Fame along with so many other greats is a dream come true. I am incredibly honored. And I was honored every single time I put the uniform on — an amazing thing to be able to represent my country and continue to pave the way and pay it forward to the next generation.”

A native of Medford, N.J., Lloyd’s passion for soccer started at 5 years old. Throughout her decorated career, Lloyd said she constantly reinvented herself. She began as an attacking center midfielder out of college, shifted to defending midfield, then returned to midfield — playing both left and right — before ultimately transforming into a striker late in her career.

One of the most decorated players of her generation, she cemented her legacy with a hat trick in the 2015 World Cup final against Japan that delivered the U.S. its first title in 16 years — and set them up to go back-to-back in 2019.

“I love the journey of that World Cup because where the team started and where we ended up was two totally different feelings,” she said. “I was thinking I was a horrible soccer player and couldn’t play, and my confidence was low, and all of these things all of a sudden in a tournament, having to snap out of it.”

And snap out of it she did. Lloyd earned the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player and the Silver Boot as the No. 2 goal scorer of that year. She was also named FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017.

Carli Lloyd took center stage, scoring a hat trick in the 2015 World Cup final against Japan. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

Lloyd is also remembered for scoring the winning goal in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing against Brazil in the 96th minute of extra time, helping the USWNT collect its third Olympic gold medal. Lloyd went on to win another at the 2012 London Games, adding a bronze medal in Tokyo in 2021.

“The evolution of the national team, for me, was twofold. I joined during a pivotal moment — right after the 1999ers and the ’04 Olympic team had fought for guaranteed contracts, health benefits, and pregnancy leave. At the time, I didn’t fully grasp the history behind those battles,” she said.

Lloyd says 2015 was the perfect moment to catapult the USWNT.

“Looking back, I do wish I were younger and playing in this era,” Lloyd said. “The game has exploded — more investment, more support, more competition. We did our part. Now it’s their turn.”

Carli Lloyd won back-to-back World Cup titles with the USWNT. (Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images)

Lloyd retired from professional soccer in 2021 after finishing her career with her hometown club, Sky Blue FC, later NJ/NY Gotham FC. Over 11 seasons in the U.S., she also played first-division soccer for the Atlanta Beat, the Western New York Flash and the Houston Dash. She spent a season with Manchester City in the Women’s Super League, winning the English Women’s FA Cup title in 2017.

Still, the December visit from fellow New Jersey soccer player Alexi Lalas, during which he told her she was going to be a Hall of Famer, caught her off guard. Lloyd was surprised to find out she would be a first-ballot inductee — even if others weren’t.

“I was really thrown off guard when Alexi Lalas showed up at my house, although I was kind of questioning it, but I had the distraction of our daughter just basically, kind of being born,” she said. “I know that I’ll probably get emotional when I am standing up there receiving my jacket and saying a few words, but I’m just super happy that I can be there, be part of it again, be honored amongst an unbelievable group of people, and have my family there as well.”

Lloyd was selected from a group of finalists that also included Yael Averbuch, Lori Chalupny, Stephanie Cox, Cat Whitehill and Amy Rodriguez, among others. She and Nick Rimando were elected via player ballot, while Chris Armas and Mary Harvey were selected by the veteran ballot and former MLS executive Mark Abbott earned his spot through the builder ballot.

“I never played for the money, I never played it for the fame,” she said when asked about her full circle moment receiving her spot at the Hall of Fame. “I never played for glory. I played purely for the love of the game. And I think that that’s where some kids get it a little bit wrong; they see all the glitz and the glamor and what you get from winning, but it starts with love.”

(Top photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)

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