Carli Lloyd's performance is beauty from a beast

A "BEAST," that's what just about every player on the United States women's soccer team called Delran, N.J., native Carli Lloyd after a 5-2 victory over Japan on Sunday in the final of the 2015 FIFA World Cup.

Considering what "beast" means in the realm of competitive athletics, there was no better description for the way Lloyd, the United States captain, played during this ultimate game in women's soccer - well, maybe, "possessed."

I wonder whether people fully appreciate what Lloyd did in those magical 16 minutes that decided a world championship before many of the 53,000-plus fans in BC Place in Vancouver had comfortably settled in their seats.

It was legendary.

First there was Lloyd's magnificently timed run and perfectly placed left-foot strike of low-driven corner kick from Megan Rapinoe that put the USA up, 1-0, in the first three minutes.

Two minutes later, Lloyd's field awareness and hustle had her in position to deflect a back-heel pass from Julie Johnston into the net for a two-goal lead.

Next was the coup de grace.

After stealing the ball from a Japanese player, Lloyd dribbled to midfield and noticed that goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori had wandered out of her penalty box.

Call it insanity or supreme confidence but Lloyd had the moxie to shoot from 54 yards out. In a panic, Kaihori desperately tried to scramble back to her line, but the shot was too good.

Kaihori fell to her back at the 6-yard line, tipping the ball with her outstretched hand, but not enough to prevent it from completing the first hat trick in a Women's World Cup history.

"Honestly, everyone has been asking me about it," Lloyd said yesterday during a World Cup recap on Fox Sports 1. "I remember I took a dribble, saw the keeper off her line and went for it.

"It's one of those things where all your training, all your mental and physical preparation . . . just instinct. I don't think I quite knew exactly how far. I just unleashed it and hit it probably as good as I could hit it."

Lloyd's performance equals that of Sir Geoff Hurst who had the only other hat trick in a World Cup final when England beat West Germany, 4-2, to win the 1966 title.

Most players who have a "big-game" reputation come with a natural swagger. They inherently know who they are and embrace it.

Despite becoming the only person to score the winning goal in two Olympic gold-medal games (2008 and 2012), Lloyd doesn't necessarily fit that mold.

In the past, she has acknowledged she sometimes lacked self-confidence and would lose focus.

The timing of the comments former USA coach Pia Sundhage weren't ideal, considering her current team - Sweden - was about to play the United States during group play, but much of what she said about Lloyd was on point.

"When she felt we had faith in her, she could be one of our best players," Sundhage told the New York Times. "But if she began to question that faith, she could be one of the worst."

Back in 2011, when the USA was preparing for the World Cup in Germany, Sundhage told me the only issue she had was that Lloyd "sometimes zooms out and can disappear for a while."

The ups and occasional downs in Lloyd's career bore that out.

Lloyd made her first Senior National Team in 2005 but did not become a permanent starter until 2008.

After scoring the game-winner in 2008 Beijing Games, Lloyd said she got a little too caught up in the hype and that affected her performance.

"Looking back now, after that I think I relaxed a little bit," Lloyd told me in 2011. "It doesn't take much to drop off. At some point, I realized I needed to step up my game."

Lloyd then committed to a better physical and mental training routine. Her visualization techniques have become legendary with the USA team.

Still, at one point, Lloyd was benched during the 2012 London Games only to come back in the gold-medal game to score the winner against Japan.

The 2015 World Cup became everything to Lloyd. Nothing else took precedent over preparation.

Lloyd asked her family and her fiancé to not come to Canada because she didn't want any distractions.

Still, Lloyd was not at her best when this World Cup began. Her play during the three group stage games was, at best, passable. She struggled with careless passes and sloppy ball possession.

But in the round of 16 against Colombia, Lloyd was called on to take a penalty kick after Abby Wambach had missed an earlier one.

Without saying a word, USA coach Jill Ellis told Lloyd she had faith in her.

Lloyd buried the penalty kick and then it was game on. She went into "beast-mode."

She had the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over China in the quarterfinals and then scored on a penalty kick and had an assist in the 2-0 win over Germany in the semifinals.

Lloyd scored six of the United States' final 10 goals, including the game-winner in the final three matches.

"It's funny how things can pan out," said Lloyd, who tied for the lead with six goals and was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player in the World Cup. "It's like in the 2012 Olympics getting benched and then persevering through.

"I wasn't as impactful on the field as I wanted to be [to start the World Cup]. I didn't have any offensive threats going.

"Scoring the penalty kick against Colombia really boosted my confidence. Once I found the back of the net, I just rolled my sleeves up and this is go-time for me."

Carli Lloyd continued to go, all the way to one of the greatest performances in World Cup history.