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.

It was a great move. I just felt like I wanted to try this out and see what the better fit was for me. I felt like, up here, my role was a bit bigger. I just fit in better. I knew that within the first camp where I was here, talking to Andrew (coach Andrew Olivieri) about it all. Obviously, it’s a tough switch. The American program was great to me. I have nothing bad to say about the way that they run their programs. But I just fit in better here and I feel very happy with my decision.

It’s a long shot that 47,784 or more spectators will show up at Commonwealth on Saturday for the Canada-Germany quarter-final. But we know it will be the comparison that will be used by so many members of the Edmonton and the national media.

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.

Over the past two NCAA seasons, Janine Beckie has scored at a torrid pace for Texas Tech. Now, her addition to the Canadian team ahead of the U-20 Women's World Cup provides coach Andrew Olivieri with an interesting trump card.