Canadian Women Beat Argentina 2-1 To Win First Ever Olympic Soccer Game
Posted August 6, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Defender Candace Chapman and striker Kara Lang scored goals as the Canadian women’s soccer team defeated Argentina 2-1 Wednesday in their first ever game at the Summer Olympics.
Chapman opened the scoring in the 27th minute. The defender from Ajax, Ont., blasted a shot from about 35 yards out that weaved through a forest of legs and into the net. Chapman celebrated the team’s first Olympic goal by pumping her first in the air after being mobbed by her teammates.
Lang, the big striker from Oakville, Ont., gave Canada a cushion in the 72nd minute when she headed in a Rhian Wilkinson shot from about 15 yards out.
Argentina made it close when Ludmila Manicler scored in the 85th minute.
An announced crowd of 23,201 watched the match, the first event of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The game was played in the 60,000-seat Tianjin Olympic Centre Stadium in this city of over seven million people located 120 kilometres from Beijing.
The Canadian men’s team played at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
Chapman celebrates scoring with teammates during Women’s Group E match between Canada and Argentina on day -2 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 6, 2008 in Tianjin, China. Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images.
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The Games don’t officially start until the opening cermonies on Friday. When is Canada competing and who’s playing when? For the full schedule of events, click here.
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