The South Jersey Girls Soccer League from 1993 has some explaining to do.
On Wednesday afternoon, United States Women's National Team star Carli Lloyd shared a rejection letter showing that she was once deemed not one of the best 18 footballers to represent her region:
My letter I received after I tried out for the SJ select team. I didn’t make it, which led me to then try out for the @medfordstrikers and was determined to not let this failure derail me. pic.twitter.com/FLLEnNyykr
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) April 29, 2020
This wasn't the last time Lloyd faced a significant setback. As she notes on her website, she was once dismissed from the USWNT Under-21 squad. She even considered quitting the sport after she was cut.
We'd say her decision to persevere worked out rather well. After she was promoted to the senior squad, Lloyd became a two-time World Cup champion, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and won back-to-back FIFA World Player of the Year/Best FIFA Women's Player honors.
In 2019, Lloyd became the first player to score in six straight Women's World Cup fixtures.
Fox Soccer fans and Sporting News named Lloyd the best women's footballer of the 2010s.
Lloyd's hat-trick versus Japan in 2015 remains one of the greatest performances of any World Cup Final.
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