EDMONTON

A team of teenage girls soccer players arrived via charter at 2 p.m. Wednesday, wondering if they were taking a trip back in time.

Is it possible? Is it conceivable? Could it happen?

Are we about to experience The Distant Replay of 2002?

When Team Canada came out of an early evening team meal Wednesday, the ticket totals, which felt an immediate surge within an hour of the team qualifying, were pushing 15,000.

It’s likely the 16,503 mark — representing the largest crowd of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup — will be eclipsed by the time the team has breakfast.

If you take the temperature of the town, there seems to be a mood and attitude to try to recreate and replicate a scene from a dozen years ago.

But The Girls of 2002, Christine Sinclair, Kara Lang, Erin McLeod, Candace Chapman, Carmelina Moscato, Brittany Timko, Sasha Andrews, Katie Thorlakson and others had two weeks of wooing and wowing the Edmonton fans to get to this game.

These girls — Janine Beckie, Nichelle Prince, Sura Yekka, Kadeisha Buchanan, Jessie Fleming, Rebeca Quinn, Ashley Lawrence, Valerie Sanderson and others — we don’t know. And between now and 6 p.m. Saturday isn’t a lot of time to get to know them.

But after their surprising 1-0 win over favoured North Korea Tuesday in Montreal, this group of Northern girls deserve the reward of getting to this game. And you can’t blame them for being a bit excited about the possibility of Edmonton fans going to Saturday’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup quarter-final to recreate a special scene.

“I’m excited because Edmonton has proved to be a great soccer city in the past and I’ve been here before. I won my first cap here last year,” said Sura Yekka, who was brought up to play with Sinclair and the national team in a 3-0 win over South Korea before 12,746 shivering fans on Oct. 30.

“That was a great experience and the crowd was amazing and I hope the same thing will happen this time against Germany,” said Yekka as she left the team meal last night.

Yekka has no recollection of 2002, of course.

“I was five. I never watched it but I’d always heard about it growing up,” said the 17-year-old, who may be here next year as a member of the senior team for the big show, the FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup.

Ashley Lawrence, when she left the meal, said there’s already a buzz with the group.

“I’m looking forward to it because there’s already been some talk about a big crowd.

“I’ve watched the incredible highlights of that 2002 group and saw that crowd. I’m just so looking forward to it. I can’t wait to be part of it myself.”

What they’ve experienced in Toronto and Montreal hasn’t compared to the smallest crowds here in 2002. But …

“They’re the biggest crowds I’ve ever played before,” said Janine Beckie, Canada’s goal-scorer vs. North Korea.

“The atmosphere has been fantastic. It’s been unbelievable to play in Canada, in front of a home crowd. There’s soccer players who, in their whole lifetime, won’t play in front of a home crowd, so it’s been great.”

Back when the draw was constructed it was it was built with this possibility in mind — Canada finishing second in the pool and coming to Edmonton to play against the winner of the Group of Death pool featured here.

Germany played in doubleheaders here before 10,101 and 10,025. Canada drew 14,834 and 16,503 in Toronto and 13,013 in Montreal.

There’s likely no way you can expect anything on the order of the 37,194 Canada drew against Brazil in the semifinal or the 47,784 against U.S.A. in the final of the event which resulted in FIFA boss Sepp Blatter giving your correspondent that famous quote in an exclusive interview: “What they have realized here is extraordinary in the 27 years I’ve witness FIFA events. It goes under the skin. It gives goose pimples. This whole event has been ballistic.”

But remember, this is the quarter-final. And in 2002 that was against England and it drew 24,595.

That definitely could be duplicated.

“We don’t talk too much about it, but we’re really aware,” said coach Andrew Olivieri when the team arrived.

Olivieri said motivation is not a problem for Saturday.

“As soon as they hear their anthem and they see the crowd that’s supporting them here, that’s all it should take.”

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terry.jones@sunmedia.ca