Hats off to Carli Lloyd in US win

Team U.S. scored in the first minute and Carli Lloyd had a hat trick in the first half. However, Ellis says the issue goes beyond this department, promoting women’s football for being profession, that includes the whole entire National Women’s Soccer League.

United States’ Alex Morgan heads the ball agasint Haiti during the U.S. Women’s World Cup victory tour, Sunday, September 20, 2015, in Birmingham, Ala.

Surely, a hat trick of hat tricks earns someone a chance to stop and savor.

“It’s on development for me”, Lloyd said.

Oh well. It beats being bored.

Lloyd has five career hat tricks and three this year. Her granny recently died.

This is your USWNT World Cup Victory Tour gamethread. In the 89th minute, Heather O’Reilly scored the final goal of the day.

The pace of the match finally dropped, allowing Haiti to keep some possession of the ball and enjoy some time away from their own goal. So now, it’s a matter of figuring out the combination of players and what their exact roles will be just underneath her, which is something coach Jill Ellis seems to be in the process of sorting out. “It’s a comfortable spot”. Of course, with the match so far out of hand, it wasn’t really a test, but in playing her there, we did see that it is something Ellis has considered. We are looking at her and others over the next six games. Since she still has forwards like Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Amy Rodriguez and veteran Abby Wambach available for the match, the USWNT should be fine. The goal was one of five that would come for the WNT in the first half.

Lloyd scored her goals at the 16-, 22- and 39-minute marks.

Yes, Haiti fielded a team of mostly teenagers. Numerous players have had a short break since the end of the NWSL season and others will be coming out of the semifinals, so we’ll take that all into account.

Lloyd also had three goals Thursday night in the first game against Haiti, which substituted for the Australian team mired in a labor dispute. Julie Johnston opened the scoring for the Stars and Stripes, the centre-back finding the net with less than a minute on the clock.

The US raced to a 3-0 lead within the opening 17 minutes, an effort bolstered by Crystal Dunn, who got her second start since being called up to the national team for Thursday’s 5-0 win over Haiti in Detroit. She’s a very competent player.

“It’s been remarkable because, obviously, yeah, she’s not only played with her club, she’s done appearances”, Ellis said. “That’s a high standard that she has for herself, and yet she wants to deliver for her teammates”.

Lloyd was asked after the game about her “breakthrough” performance in the World Cup. She would, she added, continue to “fight like an underdog”. She played on the right wing against Haiti but can also play in the back and as an out-and-out striker.