Carli Lloyd (L), Sam Mikulak (R) and the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (C) earned Best of June honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Outstanding performances during the month of July earned soccer player Carli Lloyd, artistic gymnast Sam Mikulak and the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Best of July honors for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, the United States Olympic Committee announced today.
Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.) led the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup title and was awarded the Golden Ball as MVP of the tournament. In Team USA’s 5-2 victory over Japan, she scored three goals over a 16-minute span, helping the U.S. set the record for most goals scored in a Women’s World Cup Final. Her first goal came 2 minutes and 35 seconds into the match – marking the quickest goal in Women’s World Cup Final history. She then fired her third goal from 54 yards out to become the first female – and only second player in history – to score a hat trick in a World Cup Final. In total, she scored six goals throughout the tournament – including one in each of the four knockout round games – to claim the Silver Boot, awarded to the second-highest scorer of the tournament.
Sam Mikulak (Newport Coast, Calif.) won four medals – including gold medals in both the team and individual all-around gymnastics competitions – at the 2015 Pan American Games, held July 10-26 in Toronto. In the men’s team final, Mikulak led Team USA to its first Pan Am Games gold medal since 1995, posting the team’s top score of 89.850. Two days later, he became the first American to win the men’s all-around gold medal at the Pan Am Games since 1987 with a score of 89.650. He capped his impressive performance in Toronto by winning bronze medals on floor exercise (14.925) and parallel bars (15.450).
The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team won the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 5 with a 5-2 victory over Japan, marking the team’s third World Cup title and first since 1999. In the championship game, Team USA set records for quickest goal scored (2:35) and most goals scored (5) in a World Cup Final. With the victory, the U.S. regained the No. 1 spot in FIFA Women’s World Cup rankings and surpassed Germany as the top-scoring team in Women’s World Cup history with 112 total goals. For its historic achievement, the team was honored with the first ticker tape parade held exclusively for a women’s team in New York and also earned the 2015 ESPY for Best Team.
Each National Governing Body may nominate one female, one male and one team per discipline. An internal nominating committee selects five nominees from both the male and female categories, and three from the team category to advance to the voting round. Votes received from NGB representatives and select members of the media account for 50 percent of the final tally, with the other half determined by online fan voting via TeamUSA.org/Awards.
In addition to Dow, the presenting sponsor, the Team USA Awards are supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kellogg’s, Samsung and USG.
