This was supposed to be the coda of one of the most feel-good sports stories of the year, especially for American soccer fans.

But there will be no soccer at Aloha Stadium today.

Late Saturday, several sources confirmed murmurs the Honolulu Star-Advertiser had heard earlier in the day that the United States Women’s National Team would not take the field today against Trinidad & Tobago due to an ongoing and escalating conflict with the United States Soccer Federation, the nation’s governing body for the sport known as U.S. Soccer.

On Saturday at the stadium, stars Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Hope Solo and Abby Wambach and the rest of the squad practiced in front of an appreciative gathering of about 3,000 fans, many of them young players who hope to be in their cleats someday.

Little did the kids know that today’s game would be canceled and they wouldn’t get to see the reigning World Cup champions in action — some, like the retiring Wambach, for the final time.

“This is because of a dispute between the players and U.S. Soccer,” a source told us Saturday. “They don’t want to play on turf (instead of natural grass).”

All ticket buyers will be fully refunded according to a statement released by the U.S. Soccer Federation. “All internet and phone orders will be automatically refunded with a confirmation sent via email. Fans that purchased at Ticketmaster ticket centers will need to return their tickets to the location where purchased in order to obtain a refund. Those who purchased at Aloha Stadium will need to return to the venue ticket office open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.”

The release added “… Those who bought directly through U.S. Soccer will be refunded by U.S. Soccer. Fans with questions about their refund can contact their respective place of purchase directly: Ticketmaster Fan Support at 800-653-8000, Aloha Stadium at (808) 483-2500 or U.S. Soccer at 312-528-1290 or tickets@ussoccer.org.”

The field at Aloha Stadium is FieldTurf, an artificial surface. The USWNT has played most of its recent games on turf; only two of the 10 on this victory tour were scheduled for the preferred natural grass.

Lloyd, speaking to reporters Saturday, addressed the Aloha Stadium surface specifically.

“If you take a look at the field, it’s just not good enough,” said Lloyd, who scored three goals in the first 16 minutes of the 5-2 World Cup final win against Japan. “You look at a surface like this, you just worry that people are going to get injured and something’s going to happen. Unfortunately, I hate to be honest, but it’s just the surface is a bit risky out there.”

Former national team striker Natasha Kai was on hand to catch up with eight of her former teammates Saturday. The Kahuku and University of Hawaii star was instrumental in bringing home the gold from the 2008 Olympics with some of them.

But while there were plenty of autographs given, photos taken and smiles and memories shared, Kai shared the sentiments of Lloyd about the Aloha Stadium playing surface.

“It’s old and worn out,” Kai said as she observed training Saturday. “And the sun doesn’t help it.”

The current surface was installed in 2011, stadium manager Scott Chan said, adding that it has a warranty good for “seven or eight years.”

But it already shows patches of wear and tear, and extending the field’s width for soccer means the football sidelines — the most worn part of the surface — are inbounds.

The uneven surface that is harder than natural grass also affects the way the ball bounces, and hence, the game itself, Lloyd said.

Aloha Stadium was designed as a multi-sport facility. It has hosted big-time soccer before. Pele and the New York Cosmos played there in 1976 as more than 21,000 looked on. A game featuring David Beckham and Brian Ching in 2008 attracted 23,000.

They used to play baseball at Aloha, too. In 1997, the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals played a three-game series. Later, Tony Gwynn complained about the thin Astroturf playing havoc with his knees.

That surface also caused football players to suffer staph infections — at best a nuisance injury, at worst life-threatening.

Eventually, after some persistent prodding by UH football coach June Jones, the stadium switched to FieldTurf in 2002, which is supposed to be easier on athletes’ bodies.

And a change was needed to keep the NFL coming back with the Pro Bowl.

“The NFL does an assessment every year,” Chan said Saturday. “They were just here recently and everything meets with their standards.”

But Chan agreed the surface, although “multipurpose,” is not perfect for soccer because it isn’t wide enough.

“Aloha Stadium is special to many of us who live here, but it’s not the ideal soccer facility,” UH coach Michele Nagamine said. “The ideal soccer venue has natural grass, dimensions of 120 and 80 yards and seats 15 to 20 thousand fans. There was so much controversy over the team playing on turf for the World Cup that I was surprised to hear that the tour was stopping in Hawaii.”

Star midfielder Megan Rapinoe will be out for months after tearing the ACL in her right knee at the UH grass field Friday.