EDMONTON

Scatter a little pixie dust on this Tinker Bell, because it’s all just pure fantasy.

Jessie Fleming is 17.

Maybe that’s a little too old to be playing with a dollhouse.

But to be playing before 53,058 in Edmonton’s big house in the FIFA Women’s World Cup? To be playing before the he biggest crowd ever to watch a national team soccer game in Canada’s history in the biggest female sports event in the world?

That’s about as golly gee as it can get. How many times in the next 48 hours did she stop and tell herself ‘That happened to me!’?

“Definitely a couple of times,” said Fleming.

“When I woke up in the morning I said ‘Oh my God, what happened last night? It was just a super cool opportunity for me.”

It was the 71st minute of the opening game when the midfielder from London, Ont. was substituted into the game against China for her World Cup debut.

Coach John Herdman didn’t say much to her when he sent her in.

“He didn’t say anything too crazy,” said Fleming. “Just help the team try to get a goal.”

She said it’s all still a little surreal.

“I took the time to kinda look around at the crowd but once I got into the game I kind of got into my own little bubble and kind of took the crowd out of the game and focused on what I needed to do.

“I was shocked, when we all stopped for Christine Sinclair’s penalty shot, how much louder the crowd was than we thought it was. I think we all just zoned out everything that was going on around us until that moment.

“I watched it afterwards and it was like a whole different game. That was kind of strange for us to see what it was like afterwards.”

On Dec. 15, 2013, Fleming was 15 when she made her debut with the national team to become the second youngest player ever to play for Canada. Her starting a World Cup game for at 17 is not a record.

Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Chiejine became the youngest player to perform at a FIFA Women’s World Cup when she took the field against Korea in 1999. She was 16 years and 34 days.

It’s not even a Canadian record.

Kara Lang, who played in the same Commonwealth Stadium as a 15-year-old in the FIFA U-19 in 2002, was with the big girls a year later to play her first World Cup game at USA 2003 in Columbus, Ohio. She was 16.

“It was such an incredible way to kick off the World Cup,” added Fleming. “It was just so incredible to be able to play for our country in our own country.”

Ashley Lawrence is 19.

A Toronto talent, she’d only started five games with the senior squad in her life. And suddenly, she’s out there starting at midfield in the most massive game of them all in the tournament prior to the medal round before millions of viewers worldwide and all those people in the stadium.

“It was definitely a surreal moment for me. You can’t really prepare for that,” said Lawrence. “I remember stepping out on to the pitch and it was absolutely amazing. That atmosphere! I can’t even describe it.

“It was an amazing experience that I’ll never forget.”

Both her parents were part of the crowd.

“When I found out I was starting, I let them know. They were just ecstatic,” she said. “Every soccer player dreams of playing a World Cup at home. For me to do it at my age, in the opening game before a crowd like that, is just an absolute honour and I’m just so grateful. It was like a life-changing experience.”

Kadeisha Buchanan is 19.

Another Toronto talent, Buchanan has long been identified as a future superstar defender, had already earned 35 caps and 33 of them were starts. It was no surprise to see her out there starting this one.

But, again, she’s 19. And as long as she plays the game, the scene at her first game may never be matched.

It wasn’t until Sunday when the team had a rest and recovery day that it all totally hit home what had happened to her.

“I went out and ran into so many people who said ‘great game’ and ‘great performance’ and ‘good luck’ and ‘keep it up’. Then I went to a family barbecue and it was just such a great, great feeling of how many people seemed so happy for me that I had that experience. I have cousins, two sisters, nieces, a grandma and an aunt who all live here in Edmonton,” said the Brampton, Ont. product.

“I do have a really large family base here. I spent all week here after the Canada Post stamp launch. I come here a lot, actually. And they were all just super excited for me. My grandma went to the game. She sent me flowers and my roommate flowers. It was just really, really nice.”

Buchanan said she was shocked how calm she was during the game.

“I was really surprised that I didn’t feel nervous at all. I felt ready to perform. That alone was such an amazing feeling knowing there were that many people watching,” she said.

“It was such a great atmosphere. It didn’t once cross my mind how many millions were watching around the world until after the game was over though.

“When I went out to start the game I knew the crowd was loud but I just tunneled in and was really focused. It wasn’t until the end of the game that I really realized how many people were there and that’s when it hit me how amazing it really was.

“At the end of the game, when we scored and the crowd went wild, when Christine Sinclair scored … that’s when it all really hit me how loud it was and how many fans were out there. “

Adriana Leon is 22.

The King City, Ont. product is maybe the more traditional World Cup rookie. The forward with the long, flowing blonde hair was 20 when she played her first of 35 internationals for Canada in January of 2013, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over China. It was in the 77th minute she came in to replace Melissa Tancredi.

“It was a pretty special moment. It was a pretty special day for all of us. I don’t think we’re ever going to forget that,” said Leon.

“It’ll definitely be a story to tell one day. It’ll definitely be something I remember forever. My mom came here and my uncle and aunt live here. They were really excited for me. They couldn’t believe how packed the stadium was. It was incredible.

“For me when I entered the stadium after warm-ups I was pretty shocked. It was like ‘Oh my God I can’t believe this. There were so many people. And then for the last 15 minutes when I got on, they seemed to get even louder.

“It was a pretty incredible experience. I don’t think any word can describe what we were feeling out there. But you play for those big moments. We loved it.”

Allysha Chapman is 26.

The Courtice, Ont. defender is at the other end of the scale when it comes to World Cup debuts. She’s been a late bloomer. It was only her 13th international. She was 25 when she played her first game for Canada back in October.

“It felt amazing walking out, looking around and taking in the atmosphere,” she said. “With 53,000-plus people cheering, it was pretty special. It was definitely not something I’m going to forget soon. The crowd here and everybody watching me back home.”

It was maybe more special for Chapman than the other first-timers. At 26, she was beginning to wonder if she’d ever be on the team.

“I was beginning to wonder if it was going to happen. When I first found out the World Cup was going to be held in Canada, I was thinking ‘oh, my goodness, that would be amazing if I could work my way back on to the team by then’.

“It wasn’t in my expectations a year ago to be starting in the first game. I’m just really glad how it all worked out.”

She was a casualty of Carolina Morace’s time as the failed head coach of this team between Even Pellerud and John Herdman.

“I went to Carolina’s very first camp in 2008,” Chapman said. “She didn’t like me for whatever reason and I never got invited back after that.”

Chapman finished her college career and then played three years of pro in Sweden.

“I think when I look back, what I’ll remember most are the girls on this team who are such great Canadians that I got to experience that with. And I think I’ll be forever grateful to the people of Edmonton for filling the stadium. Hopefully they’ll give us another sea of red come Thursday.”

terry.jones@sunmedia.ca

@sunterryjones