They'll be hanging her poster on bedroom walls across the country. They'll be demanding her No. 10 on the first day of soccer practice for years to come. They'll be watching her clips from these games in the 2015 Women's World Cup, again and again on YouTube, and dreaming that, someday, they'll be just like her on soccer's biggest stage.

Just like Carli Lloyd.

Maybe it was your daughter who was sitting on the edge of the sofa Sunday night as the former Rutgers star took over this tournament. Maybe it was your niece, or the girl across the street, or given how this event has captivated American families (more on that in a minute), the boy across the street.

But make no mistake about this: Lloyd is the breakout star of this monumental victory for American sports. Lloyd, the hardworking Delran native who arrived in Canada supposedly in a supporting role to her more famous teammates, is the No. 1 reason that Team USA is celebrating a World Cup victory for the first time in 16 years.

Her play in the games leading up to the 5-2 victory over Japan in the final left me wondering if this was the best performance ever by a Rutgers athlete on the big stage. She had scored in three straight games. She had dominated the semifinal victory over Germany. She was that good.

Forget that now. After her hat trick in the World Cup final - in the first 16 minutes of the World Cup final - this became something else entirely.

This was one of the finest performances by any American athlete in a major global tournament. Ever. What else can you say? She was that good. She was historically good.

Just ask the First Fan.

What a win for Team USA! Great game @CarliLloyd! Your country is so proud of all of you. Come visit the White House with the World Cup soon. — President Obama (@POTUS44) July 6, 2015

Once upon a time, Brandi Chastain landed on the cover of Sports Illustrated for scoring the decisive penalty-kick goal in the 1999 World Cup over China, ripping off her jersey to reveal her sports bra to the world.

MORE ON CARLI: Tracing her roots to stardom from Rutgers

Sorry, but there would be no athletic support underwear revealed on Sunday when the victory was complete. Still: If that Chastain goal once stood as the greatest moment in U.S. women's soccer history, it has now been nudged aside.

"I called (Lloyd) my beast and she's a beast. A rock star," USWNT coach Jill Ellis said.

"I am speechless. I am so proud of this team. This doesn't feel real, it hasn't sunk in. We just made history," Lloyd said.

What Lloyd did in the first half against Japan in Vancouver easily tops that, because she made it clear in the first five minutes that the defending World Cup champs would have no chance this time. She scored twice, first off a corner kick and then off another set piece, to put the U.S. up 2-0 before many fans had left their barbecues and turned on the game.

Then, in the 16th minute, she took an audacious shot from the midfield line that sailed off the Japanese goalie's hand and into the net, giving the USWNT a ridiculous 4-0 lead. If the basket looked as big as a wash bucket for Michael Jordan when he was in the zone, what must have the Japanese goal looked like for Lloyd on Sunday?

An airplane hanger?

"Carli Lloyd, three goals ... could've had four ... could've had FIVE!" the Fox announcer cooed as the game went into intermission, because she had missed a couple of point-blank headers. It didn't matter.

The USWNT had its first World Cup victory since that seminal victory over China in the Rose Bowl a decade and a half ago, and the impact for this one should be just as great. We might not be a soccer country in the eyes of the world, but we're the best damn women's soccer country out there, and if the pro-U.S. crowds in Canada's stadiums weren't proof enough, consider the TV ratings.

MORE ON CARLI: Twitter goes nuts during her three-goal performance

The first six USWNT matches on Fox averaged 5.3 million viewers, a 121 percent spike over the same event four years ago. The semifinal had a peak viewership of 12 million people, which is the biggest audience for any World Cup semifinal game, men's or women's, in U.S. history. Will the 2015 title game top the record 17.9 million peak viewers from the epic 1999 women's World Cup final in the Rose Bowl? Well, it might have, if not for Lloyd's heroics.

But the numbers also tell a story: Of the 25- to 54-year-olds viewing this tournament, 30 percent watched with a teenager or a child. That's a much bigger number than typical primetime viewership or even the NFL, and it suggests that in this era of ever-present gadgets and multiple-TV households, families gathered in their living rooms to watch this World Cup together.

That isn't going to translate into 80,000 fans in MetLife Stadium for the next Sky Blue FC game (that's New Jersey's women's professional soccer team, if you weren't aware). But there is no doubt, just as the World Cup title 16 years ago had an impact on this generation of players, this run will impact girls who are fastening on their shin guards today.

And it'll be Lloyd making the biggest impact. She doesn't have the endorsement deals that teammate Alex Morgan has, or the notoriety (often for all the wrong reasons) that goalie Hope Solo has, or even the grassroots popularity that fellow midfielder Megan Rapinoe has.

None of that matters. In one of the biggest games in U.S. soccer history, Carli Lloyd had a performance for the ages to bring the World Cup trophy back where it belongs.

"It's been a long journey," Lloyd said. "I've had people believe in me in my corner from day one. I've dedicated my whole life to this. Everything comes second. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

"We just wrote history today."

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She had those three goals in 16 minutes on a warm Vancouver night, each more spectacular than the last, and when a generation of young American girls line up shots on a goal in their backyards or playground, they'll all want to do the same thing.

Be like Carli.

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find Steve on Facebook.