Retired U.S. soccer star Carli Lloyd announces she is expecting baby in October

Retired U.S. women’s soccer star Carli Lloyd and her husband are expecting their first child in October.

The 41-year-old Lloyd announced her pregnancy on Instagram on Wednesday. She has been married to Brian Hollins for seven years and indicated in her social media post that she had gone through fertility treatments.

“It has been a rollercoaster of a journey to get to this point,” Lloyd wrote. “We are beyond excited to be parents! I couldn’t have gotten through this without my amazing husband, Brian. He truly kept me going.”

Lloyd retired in 2021 after a career that included two World Cup titles and a pair of Olympic gold medals. Her crowning moment was scoring three goals in the opening 16 minutes of the U.S. victory over Japan in the 2015 Women’s World Cup final.

Lloyd played 316 matches with the national team, the second-most international appearances of any player. She scored 134 goals for the United States, third most in team history, along with 61 assists.

Lloyd was twice named the FIFA Women’s Player of the Year during a 22-year playing career.

Last week, Lloyd joined onetime U.S. men’s great Cobi Jones in Greece to participate in the U.S. State Department’s Sports Envoy program.

Reporting by The Associated Press.