Photo: Ira L. Black - Corbis/Getty
Carli Lloyd is continuing her farewell tour.
The soccer star, 39, played her last regular season home game in her home state of New Jersey on Sunday and scored NJ/NY Gotham FC’s lone goal against Racing Louisville FC. The matchup ended in a 1-1 tie.
Though her regular-season career has ended, Lloyd still has some time left on the pitch — the tie left Gotham FC as the fifth seed out of six in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) playoffs. Next week, they will face off against the Chicago Red Stars.
“I feel like I’ve been on this never-ending farewell game tour,” Lloyd, whoannounced her retirementfrom NWSL and the U.S. women’s national soccer team in August, told reporters after Sunday’s game, perNew York Post.
“Not a lot of athletes get to dictate when they want to leave their sport, and not a lot of athletes get to leave on top,” she said. “Not a lot of athletes get a two-plus-month farewell tour.”
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Her final home game marks the latest milestone in Lloyd’s retirement — last Tuesday, sheended her career with the USWNTwith a 6-0 win over South Korea.
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“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 after last week’s game, 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.”
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“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.”
“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
