U.S. soccer great Carli Lloyd, who once scored three goals in a World Cup final, found herself playing defense on social media Thursday.
A person with a vulgar username on X, formerly Twitter, asked her, “Carli is it tru you lost to a bunch of 15 year old boys?”
The question appeared to be intended as a “gotcha.” But in 2017, CBS reported on the women’s national team’s 5-2 defeat to FC Dallas’ U-15 boys academy team in a scrimmage.
Lloyd did not shrink from the query.
“Yes it’s true. I know…thousands of people have already brought that up,” she wrote. “They were good. We actually lost to a youth Bayern Munich team in my career as well but then we went on to win Olympics and World Cups. So.....”
When someone posted a photo of her next to a much larger player from the FC Dallas teen squad, Lloyd wrote: “Haha. They should beat us. Bigger, stronger, faster! Boys always gave us a run for our money! It was great prep.”
The national team was the reigning World Cup champion at the time (due partly to Lloyd’s Golden Ball-winning heroics at the 2015 event) and would win a second World Cup with Lloyd in 2019.
She finished her storied international career with 134 goals, the third most in U.S. women’s history.
Some observers on X applauded Lloyd for her frankness.
“Wow, honesty, and straight forward candor. Another reason we dig you, Carli,” one wrote.
“Much respect for not trying to spin it,” another commented. “Women’s sports are just as good as men’s sports, just different.”