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By Danniel Goffenberg, Centennial College

Janine Beckie had herself a Pan Am Games debut to remember in Canada’s opening soccer match against Ecuador.

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The Canadian forward opened the scoring, then scored another in what became a convincing 5-2 victory.

And then when Canada, without any substitutes left, lost goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe to a red card, Beckie put on a gray vest and stepped in net.

“It was an unfortunate situation, having already used our three subs, but good for her, for having that confidence and stepping in,” said Labbe, who will miss Wednesday’s game against Costa Rica.

The last time Beckie played goal was when she was still in elementary school, also as an emergency substitution.

“It’s funny because Simon (Eaddy, goalkeeping coach) and I kind of joked about it a few days earlier, just like, ‘Hey Si, if someone gets hurt, can I play?’” Beckie said. “And then, when Steph gets the red card, I kind of looked over to him and was like, ‘Hey, you know, let’s do it.’