The U.S. idolizes its sports icons, and the country minted a new one Sunday afternoon in Vancouver.
As the smoke from dozens of wild fires dimmed the air inside B.C. Place, U.S. captain Carli Lloyd lit a spark of her own by scoring the fastest hat trick in women’s World Cup history.
The U.S. led 4-0 by the 16th minute.
“Pinch me,” U.S. head coach Jill Ellis said after the match.
“It’s the most ridiculous game I’ve ever been a part of,” said Meghan Klingenberg, a U.S. defender.
“I feel like I blacked out in the first 30 minutes of the game,” said Lloyd, who added she “was on a mission today.”
The New Jersey midfielder scored the winning goal in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, in the latter defeating Japan in penalties. The clutch scorer, who ask her family and fiancé to stay away during the tournament, has learned to go for broke in big matches and visualizes success. In fact, she didn’t see herself scoring three goals to win the World Cup — but more.
“I was home, it was just my headphones, myself and I at the field,” she said in a post-game press conference. “I’m running and I’m doing sprints, it’s hard, I’m burning. I visualized playing in the World Cup Final and visualized scoring four goals. Sounds pretty funny, but that’s what it’s all about”
In front of 53,341 spectators on July 5, the U.S. talent crashed into Japan in the second minute final and didn’t relent until they had clinched their third World Cup with a 5-2 victory.
On the first corner kick, Megan Rapinoe’s cross from the right was flat and fast, beautifully placed to meet Lloyd who streaked in, uncovered, from outside the 18-yard box. She toed the ball into the back of the net with a one-touch shot to give the U.S. a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
It was one of the best goals of the tournament, if only because the set play was flawlessly executed, catching the Japanese off guard and setting the course for the most important game in four years.
“It seems Lloyd, she always does this to us,” said Japan’s head coach Norio Sasaki, with a gracious smile. “In London she scored two goals and today she scored thee. We are a bit embarrassed, but she is an excellent player so I really respect her and admire her.”
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The two teams have traded World Cup and Olympic titles since Japan edged the U.S. in a shoot-out at the 2011 World Cup in Germany. The U.S. had answered three years later when they claimed Olympic gold at the London Games, where they famously plied the referee and broke Canadian hearts.
In this latest meeting, the No. 2 team edged No. 4 to finish first in the world.
In the fifth minute of the final, Lloyd scored her fifth goal in seven games, crashing the net to burry an unclaimed ball. Then, in the 14th minute, Lauren Holiday capitalized on a poorly headed clearance. The ball spinning high above the pitch, Holiday expertly volleyed her shot into the mesh before the ball touched turf.
Then a fourth goal, another from the foot of Lloyd whose horoscope that day said, “Just do what comes naturally.”
In four shots, the U.S. scored four goals.
From the half-way line, Lloyd struck a seeing-eye shot that caught Japan’s keeper Ayumi Kaihori out of position and blinded by the sun shining through the open roof. It was an audacious strike, one that cemented Lloyd the Golden Ball Award as the tournament’s best player and put her only seven minutes’ worth of play time from winning the Golden Boot as the most prolific goal scorer. (That award went to Germany’s Celia Sasic. Both players had six goals and both scored a hat trick, though only one had the distinction of playing in the final. Overall, Sasic played fewer minutes to earn the top prize.)
Japan answered with one of their own when Yuki Ogimi scored her second of the tournament in the 27th minute. Her patient footwork bought enough time in the box for her to slice the ball just out of reach of Hope Solo.
In the second half, Japan counted another goal off a free kick that was placed just in front of Solo. Japan’s Homare Sawa was inches away from putting her head on it, but it didn’t matter because defender Julie Johnston put it in for her, scoring the own goal to bring Japan within two.
One minute later, the U.S. answered with its fifth goal. From the touch line, Morgan Brian passed the ball back into the box to Tobin Heath who scored her first World Cup goal.
