Diana Matheson saved some blushes for the Canadian women’s national team, scoring an 87th minute winner as Canada beat Hungary 1-0 in Budapest Tuesday in a World Cup warmup match. Karina LeBlanc played the full 90 and got the clean sheet in goal for Canada.

Carolina Morace has called teenage keeper Rachelle Beanlands to the Canadian women’s national team camp as a potential replacement for Stephanie Labbe. Beanlands who attended this past winter’s national U-18 camp in Brazil, backstopped the Ottawa Fury U-17 girls to the 2010 Super Y-League North American Championship. She will join keepers Erin McLeod and Karina LeBlanc in the camp.

The scramble for fitness has already been lost by striker Josee Belanger, who has scored five times in 11 appearances for the Canadian team. She indicated to Quebec media sources Friday that her injured ankle would not be ready in time for the World Cup. Midfielder Kelly Parker is also racing to be fit in time to meet Morace’s May 10 deadline. Parker has played just 10 minutes in two subsititute appearances for the Western New York Flash of the WPS, where she teams with Christine Sinclair and FIFA player of the year, Marta.

Sweden got an early goal, and some outstanding goalkeeping, and hung on to a 1-0 win over the Canadian women’s team Saturday in a Rome friendly. Swedish coach Thomas Dennerby started his “A” lineup, save for one position. He wanted to have a look at Sofia Lundgren, usually the No. 2 keeper in the set-up. She ended up being huge in the match, making a series of saves.

The Canadian women’s team got its second consecutive 1-0 win at the Cyprus Cup. This time, the victim was Italy. Reigning Canadian women’s U-20 player of the year Jonelle Filigno got the goal that puts Canada on top of its group, three points up on England and Scotland, and six up on the Italians. Filigno took a pass from Christine …

When Christine Sinclair was asked in December about which players she thought had benefited the most from the possession-and-passing style of Canadian national women’s team coach Carolina Morace, she didn’t have to think long about the answer. Midfielder Diana Matheson. While Sinclair is no doubt the face of Canadian women’s soccer, Matheson has flourished as the distributor under Morace. She displayed her worth Wednesday in Canada’s 1-0 win over Scotland in the opener of the Cyprus Cup.

These are signs that the women’s game isn’t getting stronger; in fact, we may be seeing the same trend that we’ve seen with women’s hockey. After a surge in interest in the 2000s, the game is shrinking rather than growing.

What is disturbing to average Canadian soccer fan (and taxpayer) is that, if the matter is taken to the lawyers, that Morace would be the second women’s coach in a row brought in front of arbitrator.

So, what now for Canada? Carolina Morace, the Italian coach who saved the Canadian women’s program from the thump-the-ball-up-the-field-and-chase-it thuggery promoted by her predecessor, Even Pellerud, will leave the program after the women’s World Cup.

So, here’s the question. Based on the criteria of most valuable to his or her team, to whom would you give the award (man, woman or both)? We at The 11 would love to know.