Photo: Getty
And that’s a wrap.
Legendary soccer playerCarli Lloydended her career with the United States women’s national soccer team on Tuesday night, with a 6-0 win over South Korea. She walks away from the team after helping them win two women’s World Cups during her storied career.
Lloyd, whoannounced in August plans to retire from soccerafter finishing her remaining games for the USWNT and the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) this season, left the field to a standing ovation during the 66th minute of the game.
“I hope you know that I gave it everything I had for every single one of you,” she told the crowd before the game,Yahoo! Sportsreported. “Thank you to everybody who has played a role in my journey. I can’t thank you enough. And that is it. I am signing off. You will not see me on the field, but you best believe that I will be around helping this game grow.”
As she was subbed out for Alex Morgan during the game, the 39-year-old hugged her teammates and removed her jersey to reveal another jersey with the name of her husband, Brian Hollins.
“It’s been emotional. But there’s just a sense of peace and contentment that I feel — it’s just joy and happiness,” Lloyd said afterward, according toESPN. “It’s been an amazing journey and I gave it all I had, and now I can walk away into the next chapter.”
“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,” she said in August. “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.”
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“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,” she continued, in part. “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.”
source: people.com
