New Jersey's Carli Lloyd, USWNT soccer superstar, announces retirement
"What I am most proud of is that I've been able to stay unapologetically me."
NEW JERSEY (WABC) -- Carli Lloyd, the New Jersey native who became a global soccer superstar and Olympic gold medalist, has announced her retirement from the sport.
According to U.S. Soccer, four fall friendly matches for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team will serve as Lloyd's final games in a U.S. uniform.
Two will be played in September, the two others in October.
Lloyd will also play the remainder of the National Women's Soccer League Season with NJ/NY Gotham FC before ending her professional club career.
She played 12 years with six teams.
"When I first started out with the National Team in 2005, my two main goals were to be the most complete soccer player I could be and to help the team win championships," Lloyd told U.S. Soccer. "Every single day I stepped out onto the field, I played as if it was my last game. I never wanted to take anything for granted, especially knowing how hard it is to get to the top, but even harder to stay at the top for so long."
The 39-year-old from Delran currently has 312 caps, which is second all-time in U.S. and world history behind only Kristine Lilly (354). Lloyd is one of just four international soccer players to play 300 or more times for her country.
Lloyd's 128 career goals are fourth all-time in U.S. history and tied for fifth all-time in world history, and her 64 career assists are sixth all-time for the USWNT.
She scored in all three Olympic medal games in which she played, and she earned the game-winners in the gold medal games at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
Lloyd scored twice, including the eventual game-winner, in the recent bronze medal game victory over Australia in Japan in her final Olympic match.
She is also USA's all-time top scorer in the Olympic Games with 10 goals. She also scored 10 goals in World Cup play, third only to Abby Wambach (14) and Michelle Akers (12).
"Through all the goals, the trophies, the medals and the championships won, what I am most proud of is that I've been able to stay unapologetically me," Lloyd said. "My journey has been hard, but I can honestly say I've stayed true to myself, to my teammates, my coaches, the media and the fans throughout my entire career and that is what I am most proud of. Everyone sees the moments of glory, but I have cherished the work behind the scenes and the adversity that I've had to overcome to get to those glorious moments."
Lloyd was twice named the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year (2008 & 2015) and was twice named the FIFA Women's Player of the Year (2015 & 2016).
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