The USA's Carli Lloyd (pictured) with her Player of the Match award after the FIFA Women's World Cup semifinal against Germany on June 30, 2015, in Montreal, Canada. (Photo: FIFA via Getty Images)
MONTREAL – Not many, if any, players in the 24-year history of the FIFA Women's World Cup have accomplished what the United States’ Carli Lloyd has in the past nine days.
Three games, three vital goal and three player of the match honors.
The third time certainly still was the charm for Lloyd on Tuesday night, scoring the first goal and creating the second in a 2-0 semifinal win over top-ranked Germany.
The 32-year-old converted a penalty kick and set up Kelley O'Hara's insurance tally to send the Americans to their fourth final.
“I feel we have really, really good momentum,” said Lloyd. “We’ve got each other's backs. It’s a good feeling. I have a really confident feeling going into it [the final].”
A center midfielder by trade, Lloyd lined up as withdrawn center forward behind Alex Morgan against the Germans. Needless to say, she relished the role, forcing the issue on the left side.
"It was great," the Houston Dash star commented. "I'm going to work my tail off. I came here to win this thing, not to be a participant in a World Cup."
As a 16-year-old, she went to Giants Stadium to watch the U.S. play in the 1999 Women's World Cup and was not disappointed as her heroes recorded a 3-1 win over Denmark. The Americans went on to lift the trophy that year, the last time they did so.
"I was a young girl at the time watching, thinking to myself it would be a dream come true to be a part of this," expressed Lloyd. "It's truly an honor. Winning a World Cup would absolutely be a dream come true."