Canadian women advance to Pan Am semifinals

The Canadian national women’s team has made it two for two at the Pan Am Games. Christina Julien scored her second goal of the tournament, and it stood as the winner as Canada beat Argentina 1-0 in Guadalajara, Mexico. The team’s second win in a row gives coach John Herdman and his troops a guaranteed spot in the semifinals. “We wanted to qualify for the next round,” said Herdman in a relase issued by the Canadian Soccer Association. “It is job done, mission accomplished. We can now sit back and see how the other pool plays out.” Canadian teenager Rachelle Beanlands, now with the University of Maryland, got her first-ever start in goal for the senior national women’s side and posted the clean sheet. Beanlands was at World Cup training camp earlier this year when it was unclear whether or not veteran Stephanie Labbe would make it back to the squad after suffering a knee injury. Labbe did make it back, so Beanlands never got the chance to see any action until today. The goal came after some nice work by veteran Christine Sinclair; she made a sweet pass to Julien in the penalty area, and the Ottawa Fury product was able to touch the ball past Argentine keeper Elisabeth Minnig.