Women's World Cup 2015: What We Learned from USWNT's Win

After 16 years, Carli Lloyd let the world know there would be no more waiting for the United States. The U.S. women's national team defeated reigning world champs Japan 5-2 in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sunday night to take home the 2015 Women's World Cup title. 

Lloyd's first-half hat trick, as well as goals from Lauren Holiday and Tobin Heath, gave the United States their third World Cup title—the most in women's soccer history—and first since 1999. 

Today, we take a look back at what we learned from the USWNT's dominating victory.

USWNT Proved Resilient

The USWNT came into this World Cup with two challenges: avenging its 2011 World Cup disappointment and dominating the competition in Canada. It left having proved its worth in full and then some. 

The United States' road to hoisting the trophy demanded perfection—and it came close. In the group stage, it had to get past the No. 5 and No. 10 teams, Sweden and Australia, respectively. From there, the journey required victories over Colombia (No. 28), China (16), Germany (1) and finally Japan (4). 

Ultimately, a 6-1-0 record produced a world championship. 

Even better, the USWNT only allowed three goals all tournament while its defense, led by goalie Hope Solo, held a 540-minute scoreless streak that nearly spanned the entirety of the World Cup. 

What the United States did to Japan in the final, though, is the real story because of the teams' history.

Four years ago, the USWNT suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of the Japanese in the 2011 World Cup Final. The U.S. would get their revenge in a year-in-the-making rematch in the 2012 Olympic Final. 

Sunday's victory allows the United States to wear both crowns—the first time it's held both major trophies in women's soccer since that famed 1999 squad. 

A 5-2 victory is a dominating statement in itself. A World Cup Final never before featured four or more goals total—the U.S. scored that many in the first 16 minutes.

Carli Lloyd's Tournament for the Ages

Lloyd scored her three goals Sunday before Japan could even get off a shot. 

Michael Chow-USA TODAY Sports

Not only was it the first hat trick in a Women's World Cup Final, but it was also the fastest in any men's or women's Cup tournament. Lloyd scored in the third, fifth and 16th minutes. 

The treble gave the 32-year-old six goals in four games, tied for the most in the tournament, and earned her the Golden Ball award as the Cup's best player. 

On a team with so many stars and personalities, it wasn't Abby Wambach or Alex Morgan who led the USWNT to victory.

It was its captain, Lloyd, who single-handedly dismantled the Japanese defense. Take her third goal, for instance, from practically midfield: 

That's how the World Cup's best player shows up to the Final. 

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl caught up with Lloyd after the match: “I feel like I blacked out in the first 30 minutes of that game,” Lloyd said. “It’s just crazy.”

But three goals in 16 minutes? C'mon. 

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“I visualized playing in a World Cup final and scoring four goals,” she said. “It sounds pretty funny, but that’s what it’s all about. At the end of the day, you can be physically strong, you can have all the tools out there, but if your mental state isn’t good enough, you can’t bring yourself to bigger and better things.”

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Balance Nets Championships 

Throughout the entirety of the tournament, the USWNT needed contributions up and down the roster. Time and again we saw the bigger, more well-known names take a back seat to the up-and-comers. 

Outside of Lloyd, seven other women scored goals for the team. Wambach and Morgan, presumably the most popular faces on the squad, only netted one each. 

Heck, Wambach didn't even enter Sunday's match until the 80th minute as a substitute. 

However, this shows that the USWNT could win with a variety of goal-scorers in a multitude of ways. 

Its first match of the tournament, a 3-1 victory over Australia, featured a team effort of two goals from veteran Megan Rapinoe and another from rookie Christen Press. 

With an aging Wambach and Morgan recovering from an injury, the U.S. couldn't win the Cup without a balance in talent and sharing of the torch. 

The five-goal outburst Sunday was an exclamation point on a tournament that one team dominated throughout. Fortunately for the USWNT, Carli Lloyd came to play early and often.