U.S. captain Lloyd hits final hat-trick in 16 minutes

By Simon Evans VANCOUVER (Reuters) - United States captain Carli Lloyd scored a hat-trick inside the opening 16 minutes of Sunday's 5-2 World Cup final win over Japan, enhancing her reputation for scoring in the biggest matches while making amends for a rare blemish in the 2011 final. The American midfielder became the first woman to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final and just the second player overall after Geoff Hurst netted three goals in England's 4-2 win over Germany in the men's 1966 final. But unlike Hurst, whose three goals spanned more than 100 minutes with the last two coming in extra time, Lloyd needed just 13 minutes to complete her hat-trick. Her first came in the third minute when Megan Rapinoe drove a low diagonal ball across the area and Lloyd timed her run to perfection, meeting the ball with a powerful, first-time drive past Japan keeper Ayumi Kaihori. If Japan were shocked by conceding so early, they were utterly stunned two minutes later when Lloyd doubled the lead -- again from a set-piece. It was a low ball into the box, this time from a Lauren Holiday free-kick which the Japan defense failed to clear with the ball falling for Lloyd to gleefully slot home. Japan barely had time to regroup before they found themselves 3-0 down in the 14th minute when an awful attempted headed clearance from Azusa Iwashimizu fell to Holiday on the edge of the box, who blasted in a volley. Two minutes later came one of the most remarkable goals witnessed in a World Cup final. Lloyd, gathering the ball in her own half, spotted Kaihori far off her line and shot from the half-way line. The scrambling Japanese keeper could only touch the ball onto the post and into the net. Lloyd missed a penalty in the 2011 World Cup final when the U.S. lost to Japan in a shootout, but has otherwise made a habit of scoring in the biggest matches. She scored the winner in extra time against China in the 2008 Olympic gold medal match in Beijing as well as both goals in her country's 2-1 win over Japan in the 2012 Olympic final. (Reporting by Simon Evans, Editing by Nick Mulvenney/Ian Ransom)