Family and friends of Delran's Carli Lloyd share her pain in USA's loss to Japan

The look on Carli Lloyd's face said it all: disbelief; heartbreak; fatigue.

Back home, Lloyd's friends and family were feeling the exact same things while watching.

"The game is cruel," said James Galanis, Lloyd's longtime trainer, friend, and head coach of the Atlanta Beat. "You can dominate possession. You can dominate the stats, and then you make a couple of split-second errors, and you let the opponent in."

"They are a great team, and they really deserved to win, but I guess that is the way the ball bounces," said Patti Wilson, Lloyd's aunt.

Sunday's loss to Japan in penalty kicks was a devastating end to a gutsy and enthralling Women's World Cup for the United States.

Lloyd, a center midfielder who has been with the team since 2005, is the only member of the squad to start all 16 games this year. The Delran native and Rutgers graduate scored her first-ever World Cup goal during group play against Colombia and converted a crucial penalty kick in the thrilling quarterfinal matchup against Brazil. Her six goals this year lead the team.

Wilson was in Germany for part of the tournament and attended three games, including the nerve-racking, quarterfinal thriller against Brazil.

Jamie Bula, Lloyd's cousin, was also in Germany for a week, getting the opportunity to see Lloyd's goal against Colombia and the final match of group play against Sweden.

"It was amazing just being there in that atmosphere along with the rest of the friends and family. It was unbelievable," Bula said. "I'm just so proud of what she has accomplished."

For Lloyd's closest friends, the tournament has been at times tense and at other times exhilarating.

"We were shouting at the TV, we were taking pictures of the TV," Karen Sweet said. "It is still weird because it is someone I've become so close with and is one of my best friends. To see her in the newspaper and on TV, I think it is such an incredible experience."

Laura Verzi held a Team USA party on Saturday night to celebrate her friend and the team's accomplishments. Sweet overheard people talking about the team and musing how cool it was that "she's from around here" in reference to Lloyd. Kathy Sweet watched many of the games at work and was surprised to see coworkers who had never watched a soccer game before suddenly glued to the television.

"It is amazing to see how far [Lloyd] has come," Kathy said.