Christine Nairn, the youngest player on the U.S. roster at 18-years-old, scored a dramatic winning goal in the 89th minute as the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Canada, 1-0, on a humid night at Blackbaud Stadium.

Coming off a 4-0 win in Toronto on May 25 and a 1-0 victory in Rochester, N.Y., on July 19, the U.S. Women’s National Team will look for a sweep in the three-game summer series against northern rival Canada, as the two sides meet on Wednesday, July 22 at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C. (Live on FSC and Fox Sports en Español at 8 p.m. ET).

Coming off a 4-0 win in Toronto on May 25 and a 1-0 victory in Rochester, N.Y., on July 19, the U.S. Women’s National Team will look for a sweep in the three-game summer series against northern rival Canada, as the two sides meet on Wednesday, July 22 at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C. (Live on FSC and Fox Sports en Español at 8 p.m. ET).

U.S. Women's National Team head coach Pia Sundhage and select players discuss the match against Canada and Abby Wambach's 100th career goal.

Abby Wambach scored her 100th career goal in her hometown to lead the U.S. Women’s National Team to a 1-0 victory against Canada in front of 8,443 wildly appreciative fans at Marina Auto Stadium.

News and Notes from Rochester, N.Y. on the eve of the U.S. Women's National Team's showdown with Canada

In 1999, the U.S. Women’s National Team accomplished many remarkable feats. One was winning one of the most prestigious awards in sports and earning a place in SI cover history.

The USA’s winning goal in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal came off Shannon MacMillan’s first kick of the game, to her best friend, and forever sealed the pair together in U.S. history.

The USA’s last “open” training of the 1999 Women’s World Cup was held on July 8 at Pomona-Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., about 30 miles east of the Rose Bowl, where two days later the Women’s World Cup Final would be staged. As the U.S. bus rolled down the 210 Freeway, no one had any idea what was awaiting them.

Seems that everyone has a story about where they were on the day of the final. One person said they were on a family camping trip and stopped into a bar in the "middle of nowhere" to watch. Another said that they were with their team huddled around the TV. Others have said that they were the luckiest people alive because they were in that Rose Bowl stadium. For me, and my teammates, it was just another day at the office.

In 1999, I was 15 years old and had been playing soccer for a decade at that point in my life. As a kid and a teenager I was a complete soccer nut. I was playing on two select teams for my club JB Marine so at that point in my life, like today, soccer was just about everything to me.

The 1999 Women’s World cup was an inspirational moment in my soccer career. I was 13 at the time and I vividly remember the final game against China. I watched the game with all of my club teammates, huddled in front of the TV. With our faces painted and decked out in red, white, and blue, we were rooting for the USA with all our heart. There were so many people at the Rose Bowl and the excitement in the air was almost palpable.

It was the summer before my sophomore year of high school in Trumbull, CT. It was the time in my career when I really enjoyed playing the game and tried to learn as much about it as I could. After our preseason captain’s practices, I would head home to watch the games.

After not playing in the first two matches of the 1999 Women’s World Cup, Tisha Venturini came off the bench to start the third group match and left her indelible mark on the tournament with two goals and one flip.

I grew up in Arcadia, Calif., which is about a ten minute drive from the Pasadena Rose Bowl, where the '99 World Cup final between the U.S. Women’s National Team and the Chinese National team was held. In my eyes, because the World Cup was so close to home, girls from around the country were inspired to set goals and ultimately, to dream of one day playing for the U.S. National team. I was 12 years old at the time, and already had developed a passion for the game.

I have been so blessed with the love, passion and talent for the beautiful game of futebol or as the American say: soccer! This game is in my blood and deep into the core of who I am. I barely remember a time in my life where futebol was not a part of my everyday routine. My Father really wanted my brother to play the beautiful game but he couldn’t kick a ball across a room let alone across a field! I was discouraged by my family and told that this game is for boys not girls and I need to stop. Because I did not have a ball I would use my dolls heads as a ball or anything round and practice behind my family’s back. When my parents realized that my love for the game would not go away and my brother couldn’t play they decided to support me, never knowing how far the love for this game would take me.

U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage has named 21 players for two matches against Canada, the first taking place on Sunday, July 19, at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester, N.Y., and then again three days later on Wednesday, July 22, at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.

I had just ended my sophomore year at the University of Nebraska and, like most people, I had no idea that the World Cup for women would create such an attraction. It was my first World Cup participation as a Canadian National Team member. Being a part of such an energized historical journey, I went from competing against the USA women, to admiring my opponents. I found myself becoming the fan watching each game with great anticipation. In the final when the USA won, it was the first time that I honestly experienced pride for “my competitors”.

It wouldn’t be a day in the wide world of women’s soccer without a reference to the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup – a historical event of sorts for reasons that span far beyond the words on this simple page. Looking back on myself as that young, impressionable 16-year-old ball girl, I often reminisce about how much that 90 minutes of soccer impacted, rocked and, thus, changed my entire life as I knew it. I stood on the sidelines and watched as my idols not simply passed the ball up and down the field, but also captured my heart and soul with their every step.

The 1999 Women’s World Cup practically transpired in my backyard. With the simple purchase of 6 tickets, my dad, Richard, inadvertently bought my best friend, Deb Benakis, her parents and myself not just access into a small athletic event, but rather an opportunity to bear witness to a sporting event that has since proven to be among the most pivotal in women’s soccer history.