Carli Lloyd's Most Inspirational Quotes

One thing was made clear by the U.S. women's soccer team's World Cup victory over Japan Sunday: Carli Lloyd is one hell of a soccer player. The midfielder scored three of team U.S.A.'s five goals, and she did so in the first 16 minutes of the game. Lloyd's impressive performance made her an instantaneous inspiration to girls and women across the country, whether they play soccer or not. On her website, Lloyd says her short-term goal is to win the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup — mission accomplished — and her long-term goal is to become FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, which is very possible after her stellar performance Sunday. She's obviously very dedicated to the sport, and has said a lot of inspiring things in the past that explain how she became such an incredible athlete.

Lloyd is no stranger to winning. Not only was she a two-time Olympic gold medalist prior to the 2015 Women's World Cup, but she scored the winning goals in the final games of both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. In the 2012 Summer Olympic finals (also against Japan), Lloyd scored both of team U.S.A.'s goals, leading them to 2-1 victory and the gold medal.

Here are six inspiring quotes from Lloyd that prove her commitment and dedication to soccer.

On Having A Legacy

Lloyd had to keep motivating herself throughout the 2015 World's Cup. She told The New York Times that before the game against China June 26, she told herself:

I don't just want to be a participant in the World Cup. I want to have a legacy. I want to have people remember me.

On Having A Good Attitude

You can always have energy, give great effort, and have a good attitude.

On Perseverance

The harder you work and the more prepared you are for something, you're going to be able to persevere through anything.

On What Keeps Her Going

In a video on U.S. soccer's website, Lloyd said:

I think there's a switch that kind of goes off inside of me when there's a big match and there's something big on the line. I would do it in college in big games. I've done it here. It's just, those are the moments that I live for, you know — the blood, the sweat, the tears. Everything that goes into my training, it's for those big moments and the mentality of continuing to train like an underdog and just to continue to put in the work is kind of what keeps me going.

On Hard Work

About her performance in the 2012 Olympics, Lloyd said:

Coming in, I was coming off the bench and I didn't know what to expect. I prepared harder than anyone. I don't think there is anyone who trains harder than I do. I was ready for the moment and I took it game-by-game. I focused and I kept on it every single day. Hard work pays off.

On Your Mental State

Lloyd told Sports Illustrated after her victory Sunday:

I visualized playing in a World Cup final and scoring four goals. It sounds pretty funny, but that’s what it’s all about. At the end of the day, you can be physically strong, you can have all the tools out there, but if your mental state isn’t good enough, you can’t bring yourself to bigger and better things.

With thinking like this, it's no wonder Lloyd was able to crush the World Cup finals.

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