Pia Sundhage coaches U.S. women for last time

"This next coach has some big shoes to fill," said Carli Lloyd, the American team's star from Delran.

Sundhage took over in November 2007 and led the U.S. team to the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

"She definitely came in at a crazy time," Lloyd said Wednesday. "She had a big task at hand, coming in only having eight months to prepare. There was a lot of controversy. The team was kind of divided.

"She's been brave enough to transform the game of the American style, which is normally a long-ball game," Lloyd said. "She came in and created a balance."

Sundhage also led the Americans to a second-place finish in the 2011 Women's World Cup. They went undefeated in the 2012 Olympics, something an American team had never done.

In all, Sundhage coached the Americans to 11 tournament titles, including three Algarve Cup championships and two CONCACAF Women's Olympic qualifying tournament crowns.

"Pia's charismatic," Lloyd said. "She's so passionate about the game."

Lloyd has thrived under Sundhage's watch, scoring the winning goal in both Olympic gold-medal games.

"I felt like I finally had a coach that believed in me," Lloyd said.