Childhood & Early Life
Born on July 16, 1982, to Stephen and Pamela Lloyd, Carli Anne Lloyd was raised in Delran Township, South Jersey. She has a brother called Stephen, and a sister, Ashley.
She started playing soccer at the age of five. At Delran High School, where he studied from 1997 to 2000, she played under the tutelage of late Rudy ‘The Red Baron’ Klobach. She was known for her exceptional ball control and skill at distributing the ball from the midfield.
In her senior year, she was the captain of the team. ‘Philadelphia Inquirer’ twice credited her as ‘Girls' High School Player of the Year’ in 1999 and 2000. She also received the title ‘Star-Ledger All-State First Team’ twice. In 1999 and 2000, she received ‘Parade All-American’ honors. In 2000, she received the title of Courier Post Player of the Year’.
While still in high school, she played for W-League teams Central Jersey Splash in 1999, New Brunswick Power in 2000, South Jersey Banshees in 2001, and New Jersey Wildcats in 2004.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science and Sport Studies at Rutgers University. From 2001-04, played for Scarlet Knights women's soccer team. She earned First-Team All-Big East title for four straight years.
She ended her college career with 117 points, 50 goals, and 8 shots. She was the first Rutgers player to earn Big East Rookie of the Year honors. She was the team's leading scorer for two consecutive seasons. In her third season with the Scarlet Knights, she was named Big East Academic All-Star.
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Career
Carli Lloyd won the Nordic Cup from 2002-05 as a member of the US junior national team. In 2005, she was included in the US senior team, and played her first international game in July 2005 against Ukraine.
She scored four goals at the 2007 Algarve Cup, and was voted MVP (most valuable player) of Algarve Cup. In that year, she debut her FIFA Women's World Cup tournament. In the first match of the tournament, US tied with North Korea 2–2. Next, they faced Sweden, and won 2–0. The US finished group play with a 1–0 win over Nigeria. In the quarterfinal against England, the US won 3–0. In the semi-finals against Brazil, US lost.
At the 2008 Olympics, she assumed an important role in the US women team. She scored the winning goal against Japan, and netted the game-winner against Brazil, and earned a gold medal for the country.
In 2008, she played for Chicago Red Stars of the Women's Professional Soccer league, which finished sixth on the season with a 5–5–10 record. She joined Sky Blue FC in 2010 and the Atlanta Beat in 2011.
At the 2010 Algarve Cup, she scored the opening goal, helping her team to clinch the championship title after defeating Germany 3–2.
She was named the Player of the Match three times during the 2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament where the US finished third.
At the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in the UEFA-CONCACAF play-off against Italy, she scored three goals with five assists, and earned her 100th career cap. At 2011 Algarve Cup, she scored three goals, and was named player of the match twice in the tournament. The US won the cup—their eighth title win.
At the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, she scored the winning goal against Colombia. US won the silver medal at the tournament.
In 2012, the US team opened with the Olympic Qualifiers in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In the first match, the US team won against Dominican Republic by scoring 14–0 with Lloyd scoring one goal and one assist. In the second match, the US team defeated Guatemala by 13–0 with Lloyd providing an assist.
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At the 2012 Olympics in London, she took US to a 3–2 lead. During the Olympic gold medal match against Japan, she scored two goals and led the team to a 2–1 victory. She is the only player in US history to score the winning goal in two separate Olympic gold medal matches.
In 2013, she scored her 46th international goal, and became the top-scoring midfielder in the history of the US national women's team. She also helped the Western New York Flash of the National Women's Soccer League reach the championship final, by helping them finish first in the 2013 season. In 2014, she was included in the league's Best XI Second Team.
Carli Lloyd got the opportunity to deliver an excellent performance during the 2015 World Cup. She captained the team in four matches--quarterfinal over China, semifinal against Germany and final against Japan. She scored the lone winning goal in the quarterfinal against China, and scored a penalty kick to net the first score in the semifinal matchup against.
She also scored three goals against Japan—her famous hat trick—in the first 16 minutes of the final, setting the ground for a 5-2 win that earned the US its first World Cup title since 1999. That summer, at Olympics in Rio, the women's team lost to Sweden in the quarterfinals. In February 2017, she joined Manchester City, for who she currently plays.
Awards & Achievements
After the 2008 Olympics, Carli Lloyd was named the US Soccer Female Athlete of the Year. Following the 2015 Olympics, she was honored with the Golden Ball as the top player of the tournament.
In 2015, she won the CONCACAF Women's Player of the Year title, and also CONCACAF Goal of the Year. In 2016, she won The Best FIFA Football Awards. In 2017, she was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Personal Life
Carli Lloyd married her high school boyfriend golf pro Brian Hollins on November 4, 2016.
She had endorsed Nike for several years. She has also starred in commercials for Xfinity and Visa. She also has endorsement deals with Beats by Dre, Kind, and NJM Insurance.
She has a partnership with Whole Foods Market. In 2016, she entered into a partnership deals with Krave Jerky. The same year, she was named the brand ambassador for Lifeway.
