Carli Lloyd voted top American women's soccer player of 2015

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Midfielder Carli Lloyd has been voted the U.S. Soccer Federation's Female Player of the Year after her hat trick in the final led the Americans to the Women's World Cup title.

The announcement was made Wednesday before their 1-0 exhibition loss to China in Abby Wambach's farewell match.

The 32-year-old Lloyd put the U.S. ahead 34 seconds into the final against Japan in July and capped her hat trick with a goal on a 54-yard shot from midfield. She joined England's Geoff Hurst (1966) as the only players to score three goals in a World Cup final. She had six goals at the tournament and won the Golden Ball as top player.

In all, Lloyd scored a career-best 18 international goals in 2015. She also won the award in 2008.

Lloyd received 59 percent of the ballots and defender Becky Sauerbrunn finished second. Voters included national team coaches and staff, women's national team players who appeared in 2015, the USSF board of directors and athlete council, National Women's Soccer League coaches and selected college head coaches and media members.