[6] She played her last international match with the USWNT on October 26, 2021, shortly before retiring from professional soccer at the completion of the 2021 NJ/NY Gotham FC season.

[8] Born to Stephen and Pamela Lloyd, Carli was raised in Delran Township,[9] a suburban community located in South Jersey about 20 minutes northeast of Philadelphia.

[13] Lloyd attended Delran High School from 1997 to 2000 where she played soccer under the tutelage of the late Rudy "The Red Baron" Klobach.

[14] Lloyd attended Rutgers University from 2001 to 2004 and played for the Scarlet Knights women's soccer team under head coach Glenn Crooks.

She was named to Soccer America's All-Freshman Team and was the first Rutgers player to earn Big East Rookie of the Year honors.

The same year Lloyd was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy, widely considered the highest accolade for collegiate soccer players.

[14] During her third season with the Scarlet Knights, she scored 13 goals and served 2 assists for a total of 28 points and was named a Big East Academic All-Star.

[21] In the summer prior to her senior year at Rutgers, Lloyd played for the New Jersey Wildcats in 2004 with teammates Kelly Smith, Manya Makoski, Tobin Heath, and Heather O'Reilly.

[35] On January 11, 2013, Lloyd joined the Western New York Flash in the new National Women's Soccer League as part of the NWSL Player Allocation.

[36] After recovering from a shoulder injury suffered earlier in the year, Lloyd made her debut for the Flash on May 12, 2013, during the team's 2–1 defeat of FC Kansas City.

[46] On October 16, 2014, Lloyd was traded to the Houston Dash in exchange for Becky Edwards, Whitney Engen and a third-round pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft.

[48] While Lloyd was at Manchester City, they finished second in the WSL Spring Series, and won the 2016–17 FA Women's Cup, with her scoring in the final.

[14] As a member of the under-21 team, she played at the Nordic Cup four times winning consecutive titles from 2002 to 2005 in Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Sweden respectively.

[14] During the championship match of the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Lloyd scored the U.S.' only goal during stoppage time on a free-kick.

[14] At the 2010 Algarve Cup, Lloyd scored the game-opening goal in the final helping the U.S. clinch the championship title after defeating Germany 3–2.

[78] During the Olympic gold medal match against Japan, played at London's Wembley Stadium, Lloyd scored both American goals in the team's 2–1 victory.

[80][81] She is the only player (of either gender) in history to score the game-winning goal in two separate Olympic gold medal matches; her first occurred during the Beijing 2008 final against Brazil.

[83][non-primary source needed] In April 2015, Lloyd was named by head coach Jill Ellis to the 23-player roster for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.

[84] Lloyd captained the team during four of the team's matches, including the quarterfinal against China, in which she scored the winning goal on her 200th cap,[85] semi-final against Germany and final against Japan,[86][87] and scored six goals during the tournament, finishing the tournament on a four-game goalscoring streak that spanned the knockout stage and that culminated in a hat-trick in the game's opening 16 minutes during the final against Japan.

[89] For her efforts in leading the United States to a record third World Cup title, and first since 1999, she won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.

[91] Lloyd also became the first woman to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final and the first player, male or female, to do so since Geoff Hurst did so for England against West Germany at Wembley in 1966.

[92] On April 10, 2021, Lloyd earned her 300th cap in a friendly match against Sweden to become the third player to achieve that feat after Kristine Lilly and Christie Pearce.

[97] In October 2022, she co-conducted the draw for the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand held at the Aotea Centre in Auckland.

[98] She also co-conducted the draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, in April 2022.

[99] Lloyd has said that the culture became "toxic" after the 2015 World Cup victory, alleging that players became more focused on building their brands than winning as a team.

They’re oftentimes highlighting the most marketable players.”[104] Although she was criticised for being inconsistent at the beginning of career, and for losing possession too easily, Lloyd later developed into one of the best players in the world, and is highly regarded for her outstanding determination, mental strength, and work-ethic.

[105] A tenacious, energetic, and hard-working player,[105] she also is known for her control, technique, and passing accuracy,[11][106] and is capable of aiding her team both defensively and offensively, due to her stamina, strength, and tackling, as well as her ability to get into good attacking positions, and either score goals or create chances for teammates.

[105] A powerful striker of the ball, she was capable of scoring from any position on the pitch, and could finish well both with her head and with her feet inside the area.

[114] Following the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Lloyd starred in a commercial for Xfinity[115] and signed an endorsement deal with Visa.

[116] In August 2015, she co-starred in a Nike commercial called Snow Day also featuring Rob Gronkowski and teammate Sydney Leroux.