:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46679258/GettyImages-479605366.0.jpg)
If, like the guy sitting at a table next to me in the bar, you missed the first twenty minutes of the Women's World Cup Final on Sunday evening then you missed a whole lot. He sauntered into the bar and sat down with his buddies and looked up to discover that the USA had already jumped out to a 4-0 lead. A minute later, they showed the scoring summary which included Carli Lloyd's hat trick.
"Holy sh@t, one girl scored all those goals?!"
Oh yes, she did. The final score for the match was a dominant 5-2 in favor of the USWNT, making them the first team to win three Women's World Cup titles.
Missing the start of the game also meant that you missed Houston Dash midfielder Carli Lloyd destroying Japan. It took just three minutes for Lloyd to get the USA on the board.
Fans hadn't even stopped celebrating the first goal when Lloyd put a second one into the net.
At 2-0 the USA were sitting with what many call the most dangerous lead in soccer and the scoreline many had predicted that the USA would win by. Surely, Japan would regain their composure and the game would level back out right? Not yet, as Lauren Holiday decided she too would like to get on the scoreboard in the 14th minute. Just two minutes later Carli Lloyd would put her third goal in the back of the net from midfield. When they say she scored from midfield, she really did as she scored from about 54 yards out.
There was a slight fear that momentum had begun to shift in the 27th minute when Yuki Ogimi scored for Japan, but the US seemed to locked things back down. With the scoring onslaught over, the two teams seemed to be evenly matched as things finally seemed to settle down. The goal fest wasn't over as Julie Johnston scored an own goal for Japan in the 52nd minute. However, the USA wasn't going to accept that scoreline as Tobin Heath regained the three-goal lead for her squad just two minutes later. Who, pray tell, assisted on the play? Why, Houston Dash midfielder Morgan Brian who played the perfect pass to Heath.
While Meghan Klingenberg, a defender for the Houston Dash, might not have scored a goal in this game she played a perfect game on defense and, for me, gave one of the best post match images as she and Becky Sauerbrunn did a lap around the stadium with an American flag waving to all the fans.
You may or may not have noticed a pattern in all of this (or, more specifically, a team) that keeps reoccuring so let's spell it out -- the Houston Dash. All three of these amazing ladies play for the Houston Dash. You want to see more of Carli Lloyd, Morgan Brian and Meghan Klingenberg and the Houston Dash are your ticket to doing so. If you aren't already a season ticket holder, rectify the situation and get tickets for the rest of the season right now. The players will be back with the squad and wearing orange come July 12 against the Chicago Red Stars. You don't want to be the only person in town missing out on the brilliance. So stop, click here, and go buy tickets for you and five friends.