US soccer coach Jill Ellis, left, winner of the FIFA Women’s soccer coach of the year 2015 prize, and Carli Lloyd of the USA, right, winner of the FIFA Women’s soccer player of the year 2015 prize, pose with their trophies during the FIFA Ballon d’Or awarding ceremony at the Kongresshaus in Zurich, Switzerland, Monday, January 11, 2016. (Valeriano Di Domenico/KEYSTONE via AP)
ZURICH — United States World Cup-winning captain Carli Lloyd has won the FIFA women’s world player of the year award for 2015.
Lloyd dominated a worldwide vote and collected the award at FIFA’s annual awards ceremony in Zurich.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Lloyd says: “I honestly wouldn’t be sitting up here, standing up here, without my incredible teammates.”
She stood out by scoring six World Cup goals, including a stunning hat trick in the opening 16 minutes of a 5-2 rout of Japan in the final.
Lloyd, of New Jersey, got more than 35 percent of votes made by national team captains and coaches, plus invited journalists, on a 10-player ballot.
Celia Sasic of Germany got 12.6 percent of the votes and third-place Aya Miyama of Japan got almost 10 percent.