We begin our look back at the 2015 Women’s World Cup with a salute to the champions — this tournament was held on Canadian soil but, by the time the final kicked off, the Americans had made it theirs — on the field and in the stands...

Before the BaoAn Cup, Canadian women’s team coach John Herdman mused that he could approach the game against China in one of two ways — he could play an experimental lineup that might keep the Chinese guessing all the way to June, or play a strong, first-choice team and get the psychological edge by beating the Chinese in their own stadium.

That was the situation for me on Friday night. And it was a refreshing reminder of why I love this game so damn much. As I watched Germany and China contest one of the most incredible matches in the history of the U-20 Women’s World Cup at Commonwealth Stadium, I had the Canada-Finland feed up on my laptop, seeing if our national side could recover from its opening game loss.

“I’m going a year up, so it’s a big achievement for me, again,” said Boakai. “So, I’m really proud of myself for that. I’m happy that the coach picked me, it’s a big tournament. A lot of people are going to be watching, and we’ll have to see what happens.

James Moorhouse, the technical director for USA Soccer, said Edmonton is special to his side. In 2002, the United States beat Kara Lang, Christine Sinclair and the Canadian team in the final of the U-19 Women’s World Championship, the forerunner to the Women’s World Cup. Commonwealth was packed as the home fans hoped for the upset.

Hong Kong First Division side Kitchee SC has announced Lam's capture, as reported Wednesday in the Chinese media.

Seven players who have yet to play a senior “A” match for the women’s national team have been named to what has to be called an experimental Canadian roster ahead of the Yongchuan Cup.

So, how did Ongaro latch on to the Chinese job? A year ago, he was coaching both the Canadian national futsal and beach soccer programs. Ongaro is also a FIFA instructor, and tours countries around the world. That brought him in contact with a lot of federations who have fledgling beach soccer programs. He got lots of coaching offers, but China was a bit more, ahem, persuasive in its pitch.

But the feel-good last-gasp goal shouldn’t completely mask what was a frustrating performance by the Canadian team in front of the home fans in Moncton.

For the Canadian women’s team, the match will be one of their final preparations ahead of the 2012 Olympics. But, for Moncton, the game could mean so much, much more. When FIFA and CSA officials toured the seven cities vying to host games in both the 2014 Women’s U-20 World Cup and the 2015 Women’s World Cup, they made a promise: The national team would play friendlies in those venues leading up to the games.