With her start against Sweden today, Carli Lloyd is the newest member of the very exclusive 300 club of football.
38-year-old Lloyd is the third player in history – regardless of gender – to make 300 international appearances and joined USWNT alums Kristine Lilly (354) and Christie Pearce Rampone (311).
Lloyd made his USWNT debut in 2005 at the age of 23. In the 17 seasons since then, she has played against 42 nations, won two Olympic gold medals and two world titles, and collected 20,738 minutes before today’s game against Sweden.
Another fact that points directly to Lloyd’s longevity: According to US soccer Record books, 42 percent of all players who have ever hit a USWNT cap have overlapped in at least one game with Lloyd (102 players out of 238).
Before he had a chance to coach Lloyd, the current U.S. Coach Vlatko Andonovski, he has started to pursue her career as a spectator and then as a fan. « As she developed her role in the national team and made a name for herself in the future, I certainly remember the name Carli Lloyd, » he said on Friday.
While Becky Sauerbrunn was named team captain in January, Lloyd wears the Captain’s armband for today’s matchup.
Looking ahead, there are certainly other accomplishments within Lloyd’s reach: the next time she scores, she will be the oldest player to score for the USWNT. The current record holder is Kristine Lilly, who was 38 years and 264 days old when she scored her last goal.
And if Lloyd lands a spot on the final 18-player Olympic list, she could become the oldest Olympic soccer medalist in the Become history. (Pearce Rampone is the current record holder in this category, but Lloyd would beat him by almost two years.)
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