Carli Lloyd has added yet another accolade to her already impressive list.
The Delran native and Medford resident has been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility. Lloyd is among the most celebrated women’s soccer players on the planet, having won two World Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals and a bronze. She played in four World Cups and four Olympic Games. She was named the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year in both 2015 and 2016.
Lloyd first gained notoriety when she made an immediate impact on the varsity team at Delran High School in 1997, eventually winning the 2000 Courier-Post Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
Lloyd moved on to Rutgers University where she still hold the Scarlet Knights’ records for single season and career goals scored and points, among others.
After working her way through the U.S. Soccer system for the Under-21 National Team, she made her United States Women’s National Team debut on July 1, 2005 against Ukraine. She scored her first goal on Oct. 1, 2006 against Taiwan. It would not be her last.
By the time Lloyd played her final game for the USWNT in 2021, she had played 316 games, second only to Kristine Lilly. Lloyd scored 134 career goals, which trails only Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm. A defensive-minded midfielder through the bulk of her USWNT career, Lloyd scored 99 goals after her 30th birthday, which is still an international soccer record. Lloyd was named captain of the USWNT, serving from 2016-2020.
Lloyd is best remembered for scoring the game-winning goal of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics and a hat trick in the gold-medal game of the 2015 World Cup in Canada.
Lloyd is currently a studio analyst for Fox Sports soccer coverage. She lives in Medford with her husband and daughter Harper Anne, who was born on Oct. 18.
Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes. Follow him on twitter @Rimbacksports. Email him with story ideas at tomrimback@gmail.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription to the Courier-Post.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Rutgers University Athletics…