by Greg Seltzer for Soccer365

Young teams always need that moment of cool in the big games. After 96 minutes of helping her team stave off flairful attacks from Olympic gold medal match foe Brazil, U.S. Women's National Team midfielder Carli Lloyd provided just such a moment.

If it wasn't enough to be among the leaders on the green squad that turned golden in China this summer, the #11 shirt will forever be the girl who kept her head with the world watching. See for yourself, check the video clip: Lloyd plays a clever backheel to Amy Rodriguez, who holds off two defenders to return a pass, which is taken quickly past a defender into the left side of the area on a touch and promptly deposited far side on one bounce.

Lloyd's goal held up over the remaining extra time to earn the U.S. ladies their third Olympic gold medal in four tries. Of course, in a game that fast and intense, instinct takes over for those who supply the winner.

"It's like anything... you practice, practice, practice, and when a big moment comes you take your chance and don't think about anything," Lloyd told Soccer365. "I just knew I had to keep the shot low and just hit a nice easy stroke and not try to blast it."

And though she seems to understand the significance of that one bold lash in Beijing and admitted to 'goin' crazy' when it went in, she also eagerly claims that the coronation of August 21st was about a gutsy squad - not a heroine, not a crystalizing incident.

"It was a huge moment for me to score that goal, but winning the Olympics was not about my goal," says Lloyd. "It was not about one single player. It's about team, and together, we won a gold medal."

"Truly, it was an amazing moment when I scored that goal, but the best moment was standing up on that podium receiving that gold medal and knowing we did it together and we believed in each other."

For anyone who has spent any appreciable time following the USWNT over the last 15-20 years, watching those 18 women accept their prize probably seemed like déjà vu. To anyone who's visited a practice or attended a game or perused photo galleries or caught episodes of Soccer Girls on the official USSF YouTube channel, they simply appeared to be doing what they seemingly always are doing - hugging with big smiles on their faces.

For Lloyd, this victory was even sweeter because it wasn't an overbearing armory of skill that won the day. This time, the spoils were gained through confidence and trust in each member of the squad from each member of the squad.

"I am so proud of this team for winning," she beamed. "We were the underdogs. I have never felt so united with a team before than this 2008 team."

"It was an indescribable feeling," she said of the medal ceremony and resulting celebration. "We had a sense of belief and togetherness. I'm so happy for everyone, especially all that we have went through during the World Cup until now."

That 'went through' Lloyd refers to covers a lot of setbacks that turned perennial favorites for any tournament into seeming also-rans. With the Hope Solo controversy and a 4-0 loss to Brazil in the 2007 World Cup semifinal casting a pall, the USSF opted to remove Greg Ryan as coach and replace him with Pia Sundhage, the first foreign female to take the Women's National Team reins.

As a former USWNT nemisis in her Sweden days and a scout for their 2004 Olympic gold medal run, Sundhage knew exactly how to give opponents something they weren't expecting. The new boss bled several young players without sacrificing first place finishes at Algarve and Four Nations.

The Lady 'Nats knew not long after World Cup that they would be without attack ace Kristine Lilly at the 2008 Olympics as she was pregnant with her first child, but that loss was shockingly compounded by successive injuries to goal monster Abby Wambach, two-way backline star Cat Whitehill and the versatile Leslie Osborne.

An opening game defeat to Japan had some wondering if this shorthanded and relatively inexperienced edition would even make it to the knockouts, but it showed 'em all by ripping off five straight wins by a 12-3 margin to win the gold. As tenuous as their hold on certain games looked at times, Lloyd assures that the Olympics weren't the culmination of their growth as a team, but merely the best available stage to display their existing cohesiveness.

"The Olympics are a special moment, and with this being my first Olympics, I now realize how special it is," she explained. "You are representing your country and going for the gold."

"I don't think the Olympics necessarily brought us together," says Lloyd, shifting gears as quickly as she snaked past the last Brazilian player in her shooting path in the final. "I think our coach Pia and our captain Christie Rampone and all the things we went through leading up to the Olympics brought us together."

After the USWNT's gold medal victory tour has concluded later this year, Lloyd will turn her attentions towards a rejuvenated women's pro league in America. With Women's Professional Soccer set to kick off next year, perhaps it's no surprise that a woman who spent 2008 hopping the globe to win trophies would want to start her new club career away from home in 2009.

Despite the existence of Sky Blue FC near her Delran Township homestead, the 26-year old has her sights set on suiting up for Peter Wilt's Red Stars in the Windy City.

"I am definitely interested in playing in the WPS league and I would love to play for New Jersey with it being my home state, but right now the best scenario that would excel my game to the next level would be to play in Chicago," she stated.

"I hope that it works out, but wherever I go, I want to contribute to winning and keep improving as a player while helping my teammates improve as well."

Soccer365 reporter Greg Seltzer blogs daily over at No Short Corners.

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