Cornwall's Christina Julien has been cut from Canada's Olympic soccer team's active roster and may not be participating in the Summer Games in London next month.
The popular local athlete was redesignated as an alternate by the team earlier this week. It's expected she will still travel with the team to London, but whether she actually plays any games remains to be seen.
Team coach John Herdman told the Winnipeg Free Press it wasn't easy.
"Probably the hardest decision to make was (forward) Christina Julien," Herdman told the Free Press. "She's been a big part of the team, helped us through the qualifiers, played nearly every game in my tenure."
He called it a "football decision," saying another player, Jonelle Foligno, "showed that little bit more."
A source close to the family told Seaway News Julien is understandably upset.
"Her mind is blown," said the source, who added she remains focused on doing her best for her teammates.
Julien has already represented Canada at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, where she played 94 minutes in two games.
A 2011 Pan American Games champion, Julien helped Canada at the 2012 Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament in Vancouver earlier this year, by scoring the first goal of the tournament in what was a 6-0 decision over Haiti.
Julien started playing Timbits soccer at the age of five, and played four years of NCAA collegiate soccer at James Madison University.
