Carli Lloyd had six months to figure out her National Soccer Hall of Fame speech. However, since fellow Hall of Famer Alexi Lalas told her she would be a first-ballot inductee during a surprise visit at her home in New Jersey, she has worked to find just the right words.
Her speech at the induction ceremony on Saturday was surprisingly unguarded for a player who had built her entire professional persona around her aloof strength. It was a rare moment of vulnerability that almost didn’t happen.
