VANCOUVER, British Columbia — For a time when she was younger, Carli Lloyd wasn’t sure she belonged on the U.S. national team.
And just two weeks ago she wasn’t sure where she fit into the U.S. attack in this Women’s World Cup.
But on Sunday Lloyd finally found her place — in the record books — after scoring three goals in the first 16 minutes of the World Cup final, leading the U.S. to a convincing 5-2 win over Japan before an overwhelmingly pro-American crowd of 53,341 at BC Place.
The five goals were the most scored by one team in a Women’s World Cup final, while for Lloyd the hat trick, the first in a title game, gave her six goals, tied for most in the tournament.
Three of those scores put her team ahead to stay, making Lloyd an easy winner as the World Cup’s best player and making the U.S. the first country to win three women’s world titles.
“It’s a little surreal moment,” Lloyd said. “It’s been amazing. We just wrote history today and brought this World Cup trophy home.”
Almost as important, Sunday’s performance chased away the stubborn ghosts of 1999 that have haunted the U.S. women since they last won a World Cup.
“It’s been a lot of years in between ‘99 and now. And I think it’s time,” said defender Christie Rampone, the only woman to play for both teams and, at 40, the oldest woman to play in a World Cup.
“I hope it’s not compared to ‘99 anymore. I hope it’s leading on to the next team that wins the World Cup. That’s the standard.”
Lloyd may have set a new standard Sunday.
Her first two goals came on similar set pieces — the first on a corner kick by Megan Rapinoe in the third minute and the second on a free kick by Lauren Holiday two minutes later. On both plays Lloyd started at the edge of the penalty area, then charged into the box unmarked to latch on to loose balls and redirect them in.
But her third goal was clearly the best of the tournament. As she dribbled toward midfield, Lloyd looked up to see that Japanese keeper Ayumi Kaihori had strayed dangerously far from the net. So she fired a right-footed shot from 50 yards out.
Kaihori, backpedaling furiously, got the fingers of her right hand on the ball but that wasn’t enough to stop it, as it hit the turf then kissed the left post before going in to give the U.S. a 4-0 lead.
For Japan it was a nightmare — one it had seen before. Lloyd, who scored the only goal in the U.S. victory over Brazil in the 2008 Olympic final, scored twice to beat Japan in the 2012 gold-medal game.
That’s six goals and three wins in three finals — two of them against Japan.
“She always does this to us,” Japan coach Norio Sasaki said. “We are a little embarrassed. But she is an excellent player.”
Japan offered a murmur of protest in the 27th minute when Yuki Ogimi scored after defender Julie Johnston tumbled to the turf. That was newsworthy since it was just the second goal the U.S. had allowed in this World Cup.
Japan’s second score, in the opening minutes of the second half, again came courtesy of Johnston, who headed the ball into her own goal, cutting the U.S. lead to 4-2.
But midfielder Tobin Heath quickly got that back in the 54th minute, accounting for the final score and bringing Abby Wambach her elusive World Cup title, the only item that had been missing from a resume that includes two Olympic crowns, a world player-of-the-year award and the most international goals — 183 — in history.
And it was fitting that Lloyd was the one to bring her that trophy.
In this World Cup the 35-year-old Wambach was a part-time player while Lloyd assumed the mantle of team leader and star. Lloyd now wears the captain’s armband as well.
To complete the changing of the guard, Wambach entered the field first for warmups Sunday — with Lloyd following a few yards behind.
Much of the rest of the team waited in the tunnel.
When Wambach finally entered the game in the 79th minute, Lloyd walked over and handed her back the armband.
Sunday’s victory also provided a measure of redemption for goalkeeper Hope Solo, who was suspended from the team last winter and this month faces an appeal of a judge’s decision to dismiss two domestic assault charges against her.
She had a brilliant World Cup, posting five shutouts and 540 consecutive scoreless minutes. That won Solo her second consecutive Golden Glove award as the tournament’s best goalkeeper.
But the victory may have been most satisfying for coach Jill Ellis, who believed in her game plan even as the U.S. stumbled through group play.
“Did I envision a win? Yeah,” Ellis said. “I envisioned us lifting the trophy.”
It’s a confidence she learned from her father, John, a former national team coach who sent her daughter the same text message every day during this tournament.
“It says ‘three deep breaths and keep going,’ ” Jill Ellis said. “I know he’s there with me in spirit.”
Coaching in her first World Cup, Ellis made the call to bench Wambach and repeated lineups just twice. She also went with a half-dozen different formations and tried five players at forward, all while saying she wasn’t changing a thing.
But the puzzle didn’t fully come together until she inserted Morgan Brian, at 22 the youngest player on the U.S. team, into the lineup as a holding midfielder in the quarterfinal against China. That allowed Lloyd to roam free and join the attack.
“We go through a tournament of seven games, there’s peaks and valleys. And players get hot,” Ellis said. “You kind of ride the player that’s hot.”
Lloyd took full advantage, scoring five of her six goals with Brian playing behind her. As it turned out, that was the decision that earned Ellis, Wambach and the U.S. a World Cup.
And it was the one that earned Lloyd a spot in the record books.
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