Dash eager to resume playing with Lloyd
As the U.S. women’s soccer team celebrated its third World Cup championship Tuesday in Los Angeles, the Dash were hard at work at Houston Sports Park.
The team was preparing for its game against the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday. However, Dash players and coaches couldn’t stop raving about the play of teammate Carli Lloyd and the rest of the U.S. squad.
Lloyd scored three goals in 16 minutes in leading the United States to a 5-2 victory over Japan
on Sunday night in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“Carli had one of those special moments,” Dash coach Randy Waldrum said. “(Michael) Jordan had those occasionally. LeBron ( James) and Tom Brady, too. Those players have those special days where everything works. It all came together for Carli.”
Lloyd’s World Cup perfor-
mance earned her the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s top player and increased her popularity. She also gained 50,000 Twitter followers.
During the L.A. celebration in front of an estimated 10,000 people, Lloyd was on center stage. Fans cheered in excitement and were eager to take photos. She addressed the crowd and praised the team’s accomplishments.
“I know in ’99 it was a huge turning point for women’s soccer, (but) I think we have just crushed history right now,” Lloyd said. “With the amount of coverage, with social media, with everything else that’s been going on, I think there was no greater time to win a World Cup than now. It’s an unbelievable moment. It’s something that’s going to last for years.”
The Dash were also excited about the United States’ victory. They praised the team’s effort and marveled at its start to the World Cup final.
“I was very impressed,” Waldrum said. “Once they got the formation correct and got past Germany, I thought that it was no way they could lose to Japan. I felt that we were bigger, stronger and faster. At the start, you couldn’t have written a better script as a coach.”
The Dash have been without their teammates on the U.S. (Lloyd, Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian) and Canadian (Allysha Chapman, Erin McLeod and Lauren Sesselmann) teams since early May. Many players have anticipated their return.
“I’m really looking forward to it, and it is so exciting,” Dash defender Ellie Brush said. “Carli Lloyd and those girls have been inspirations for many young soccer players growing up, myself included.
“To be in the presence of the player of the tournament at the World Cup, with a hat trick in the final … I hope I won’t be too starstruck getting on the field with her. It will be really cool to learn off her experience and play alongside her.”
After Tuesday’s L.A. celebration, many U.S. players planned to travel home. On Friday, they will reunite in New York for a ticker tape parade, the first time a women’s team will be recognized with that honor. The ticker tape celebration will be at the Canyon of Heroes with New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio.
For Lloyd, the celebration won’t end Friday. It will last a long time.
“It feels great to wake up as a world champion,” she said. “And that feeling won’t ever get old.”