But, maybe most impressive is the number of shots on target that Canada allowed in the match. Through 90 minutes plus injury time, the Germans managed just one shot on target.

Sunday wasn’t what we’d call a banner day for the Canadian women’s program.

“The message in meetings is not to be scared,” said Cornelius. “The first-timers have been told to show our football, to show our individual qualities. John wants the players to express themselves, and not be afraid to make mistakes. With the system John is trying to bring in, we are going to make mistakes. We have to learn to be better.”

Matheson missed all of the 2017 NWSL season after re-injuring the same troublesome knee that severely limited her participation in the 2015 Women’s World Cup. But she was placed on the Canadian roster for the upcoming Algarve Cup.

For sure, it’s an embarrassing own goal — but keepers have to be the most mentally tough players on the pitch and, in some bizarre way, we can argue that giving up a goal like that in a friendly will actually be good for Sheridan down the road; that it will only force her to understand that you’ve got to forget the bad goals and remain in the moment.

Why was Canada’s women’s national team coach so angry? Because Christine Sinclair, who moved into the No. 2 spot on the all-time women’s international scoring list in 2016, wasn’t on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Women’s Player Award. (Herdman was also skipped over in the coach-of-the-year selections).

The Eddies confirmed that a deal has been consummated between the clubs, but won't release the terms. But this is not a case of a player leaving the academy as a free agent.

But some perspective — while watching the Canadian women’s team lose the Olympic semifinal sucks,this wasn’t nearly as bad as it was four years ago. There was no controversy around this 2-0 loss to Germany as there was in that infamous extra-time semifinal loss to the United States. There’s no referee to blame.

Now, in the world of Canadian soccer fatalism, there will be those who treat this win like a loss; they’ll point to the tough draw. They’ll say Canada would have done better with a second- or third-place finish in the group. But that’s an anti-football mentality. It’s against everything we should hold dear about sport — you shouldn’t try to win by gaming the system, you should try to get to the top by beating all comers.

Nik Ledgerwood was born and raised in Lethbridge, but left town when he was a teenager so he could pursue his soccer career. More than a decade later, he’s come back to his home province...