Carli Lloyd's path to coach James Galanis started with a humble plea from her dad: "My daughter needs you."
It was 2003 and Lloyd was having what could best be described as a career crisis. A talented midfielder who had excelled since she was 5, she'd been cut from the under-21 U.S. national team. She decided to play out her senior year at Rutgers and then move on from soccer.
Then she met Galanis. In the 13 years since, he's been her coach, mentor and even psychologist as she's risen to the top of the game.
So after Lloyd scored her hat trick to lead the United States to victory last summer in the Women's World Cup final, she thanked Galanis.