Delran's Carli Lloyd leads U.S. women in soccer qualifier

Carli Lloyd was just 40 minutes from Delran High School, where the midfielder first started to make a name for herself by playing soccer.

She was 85 miles from Yurcak Field at Rutgers, where Lloyd played in college and was last year inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

And 38 miles away is the Universal Soccer Academy in Lumberton, where the 32-year old has trained for years with James Galanis.

For all intents and purposes, PPL Park in Chester is like a home field for Lloyd. So much so, in fact, that the advertisements the Union ran to promote the CONCACAF tournament featured Lloyd, and only Lloyd, with her hands up, celebrating.

Lloyd didn't disappoint in front of the home crowd, netting two goals in a 3-0 win for the U.S. women's national team over Mexico, punching the team's ticket to the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

On Sunday in the title game at PPL, the United States will play Costa Rica, which defeated Trinidad and Tobago in a penalty-kick shootout in the first semifinal.

"It's a big relief," Lloyd said of qualifying. "We can kind of breathe now."

When starting lineups were announced just before 7:30 p.m., Lloyd's name received the loudest reaction from the crowd, and the ovations continued throughout the contest whenever she touched the ball.

"I know there [were] a lot of friends and family in the crowd watching me play, and I got to see some of them after the game, so it was great," Lloyd said. "It felt really good, and I'm glad that one's in the books, and we are on our way to Canada."

The parking lot was full of Lloyd jerseys and T-shirts, as cousins, former teammates, and longtime friends like Laura Verzi-Aleszczyk, Kathy Sweet, and Karen Zarrella were there to see her play.

"You get more of a rush watching her play in person because of the energy from the crowd," Zarrella said.

But in Lloyd's almost decadelong career with the national team, her friends had never seen her score a goal for her country in person. Sure, the game-winning goal in the 2012 Olympics was cool to watch on television, as was the goal that sealed the 2008 gold medal for the United States. But it's nothing like watching from the stands.

That all changed on Friday night, as Lloyd headed home a service from Tobin Heath in the sixth minute, putting the United States up, 1-0.

She did it again in the 30th minute, burying a penalty kick.

"Everyone here seriously went crazy," said Verzi-Aleszczyk, who sat with a contingent of Lloyd fans in Section 115. "We jumped up, screamed - there were a lot of high-fives and hugs."

Now the focus turns to BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, the site of the 2015 World Cup championship game.

It's 2,950 miles from PPL Park.