Team USA's Carli Lloyd is ready to "win this thing"
American soccer fans have championship fever now that the United States is one win away from the Women's World Cup trophy.
Midfielder Carli Lloyd helped secure Tuesday night's victory over Germany with a penalty kick midway through the second half and an assist with about five minutes left in the game.
Lloyd is being called America's newest sports hero, but said she feels like her team is only 10 percent done.
"No one's going to remember a team that gets second, so we want to win this thing," Lloyd said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."
Despite fighting as the underdogs, the Americans left the semifinals after a dominating 2-0 performance at Montreal's Olympic Stadium.
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Lloyd said months of practice and keeping calm helped her convert the key penalty kick.
"I just got my focus, zoned in, cleared everything out around me and all it was was me and the ball, and I knew I had to sink it to help my teammates onto victory," Lloyd said.
But she wouldn't detail her entire strategy.
"I don't want to give away all my secrets, because I could potentially get another PK in the final, but let's just say I was prepared and ready for it," she said.
The U.S. will play either Japan or England for the trophy on Sunday.
If Japan beats England Wednesday, USA will have another chance to face the defending champions who stunned the Americans, winning in a penalty shoot-out in the 2011 World Cup.
"I'll be ready to put up a fight no matter who the opponent is, and I know my team will as well. But, you know, it would be a cool kind of rematch game against Japan," Lloyd said.
Lloyd, who leads the U.S. with three goals in the World Cup so far, said she lives for high-pressure moments in the game.
"The big-time moments are when I roll my sleeves up and you know, help my team out any way I can and impact the game," she said.
She also said playing with momentum helped the team outplay Germany.
"We weren't afraid. We put them under pressure, we tried things, we took risks, we created chances. Overall, just super proud of this team. Like I said, we want one more and we want to win this thing," she said.
And if they do, her friends and family, she said, will be watching from home. She doesn't want anyone she knows, not even her fiancé, at the final.
"I told them that this is the most important thing is for me. I need to focus, and I'd rather come home with hardware and not have them in the stands than vice-versa," Lloyd said.