For Brittany Baxter, the inaugural FIFA Women’s Under-19 World Championship will always be a highlight of her soccer career.

Known by her maiden name, Brittany Timko in 2002, Baxter was a member of the Canadian golden girls team that captured the hearts of a country and came ever so close to becoming world champions.

“I still have really good memories of that tournament,” Baxter said on a recent visit to Edmonton. “There were 50,000 people at the final and to think that a lot of us went on to the senior national team, that tournament was the foundation for a number of bright careers.

“The support we got definitely caught us by surprise. To be 16, 17, 18 and 19 year olds and to have so many people attending our games and to have the country behind us, was one of the best moment of most of our careers. I was just so excited to be one of those U-20 players and to know that Edmonton is such an amazing host city. They’ve always supported us whenever we come and just to have the opportunity to show what you have in a world championship is special.”

Baxter is part of the Canadian golden generation of female soccer players and still an acting member of the senior women’s national team.

At the inaugural Under-19 tournament, she became a household name as the host made their way through the draw, picking up more and more support along the way.

“That group was successful, I think, because of the on-field chemistry and the off-field chemistry we had,” Baxter said. “To this day, the core group is really, really close and there have been awesome and amazing girls who have come onto the team and we still just have such an amazing team chemistry. Just seeing and talking to some of the U-20 girls now, I think they also have the chemistry, so the future definitely looks bright.”

The 2002 Under-19 team set a pretty high bar for future editions of the side.

Canada got through the group stage of the tournament beating Denmark, Japan and Nigeria convincingly.

They then defeated England in the quarterfinals and made it past soccer super-power Brazil in a semifinal shootout.

The emotional victory set up a match against the United States, which became the genesis of the heated rivalry between the two sides.

Nearly 48,000 fans turned up at Commonwealth Stadium to back the Canadians, who went on to lose on a golden-goal in extra time.

“I remember that game really well,” Baxter said. “I remember my parents and my brother were able to drive down from Vancouver and were at the final. I remember hearing the anthem and looking around and getting goose bumps, because we were singing the anthem but the whole crowd was signing it as well. I just remember of being in awe, with the support of women’s soccer back then and it’s steadily grown since then. I think now whenever we host a game in Canada, people get excited.”

Baxter is hoping the country can back the current group of Under-20 players the way she and her generation were supported.

This year’s Under-20 World Cup is an appetizer for the main course next year when Canada hosts the women’s World Cup.

“There will always be a special place in my heart for that 2002 tournament for sure,” Baxter said. “I think as soccer has grown in Canada, I think we can have another two hugely impactful tournaments. I think now the world is taking notice and Canada is known around the world as having a strong team.”

Canada made that point at the 2012 London Olympics claiming bronze after a heartbreaking semifinal loss to the United States.

They are hoping to build on that success with strong tournaments at the Under-20 level and a good showing at the women’s World Cup next summer.

“To think that we’re about to host the 2015 World Cup as well, it kind of feels like it’s come around full circle,” Baxter said “It’s been amazing whenever we get the chance to play in Canada and to have the opportunity next summer to bring all the best teams in the world here and to hopefully be playing in that final is really exciting. I think women’s soccer in Canada is a really good place and it’s just continuing to grow.”