Top 5 moments in U.S. women’s soccer history
By Nicole Bosco
4. Carli Lloyd’s Hat Trick in the 2015 World Cup Finals
The 2015 World Cup was the United States for the taking. They had been one of the top powerhouses in women’s soccer for many years now. The U.S. found themselves in Group D with Australia, Sweden, and Nigeria.
At the conclusion of the group stage, the U.S were on top going into the knockout stage. Captain Carli Lloyd led the way as the US beat Colombia, China PR, and Germany on their way to the Finals. Lloyd found the back of the net in each of these three matches. The World Cup Final took place on July 5, 2015, at BC Place, Vancouver, Canada. The U.S. took on Japan, with was a rematch of the 2011 World Cup final, that the U.S. lost.
When Lloyd entered into the game, immediately you knew that something was on about her that day. She scored her first goal at the three-minute mark, which is the fastest goal in women’s World Cup history. She went on to score her second just two minutes later off of a free kick from Lauren Holiday.
Her final goal of the match was an unbelievable kick from midfield, that had just enough to catch the Japanese Goalkeeper out of position. The United States went on to win that game 5-2. Lloyd was named the winner of the gold ball award and the silver boot award. The television views for this finals match broke records, with 26.7 million viewers. It is the most-watched soccer game in American history.
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