Heather Mitts capped a marvelous week Saturday, scoring her first international goal to lift the U.S. women's national team to a 1-0 victory over Canada in a friendly in Nashville.

Mitts, who emerged this year as a top-flight defender with the national team, knocked home a Shannon Boxx header in the 73rd minute to prevent a second successive tie in the Americans' preparation matches for the Athens Olympics.

Mitts, selected Thursday to the 18-player Olympic roster, will make her major-championship debut at the Aug. 11-26 tournament in Greece.

''I can't stop smiling,'' she said following Saturday's victory before 9,110 at the Nashville Coliseum. ''I make the Olympic roster, and now I score a goal! Who knows what's going to happen next?''

The goal came from a corner kick during an extended period of U.S. pressure. Mia Hamm, from the right wing, sent the ball into the middle, and Boxx nodded it sharply on frame. Mitts slipped between two Canadians and poked the ball past midfielder Diana Matheson while standing nearly on the goal line.

The Americans had more of the action, especially during the second half, and were unfortunate not to score more. Hamm and Abby Wambach came close on several opportunities, and Canada goalkeeper Taryn Swiatek made nine saves, a number of them impressive.

Canada threatened twice in the first half. U.S. goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill — making her first international start — pulled down Christine Sinclair's long-range blast, and Boxx headed away a Sinclair shot just before halftime.

''We dominated, but they did a good job hanging in there,'' U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. ''I'll take a 1-0 win any night. We created a plethora of chances and another night we might finish four of five of them.''

Joy Fawcett (back) and Brandi Chastain (foot) did not suit up for the U.S. squad.

The U.S. team returns to Carson, Calif., on July 9 for its final training block before the Olympics. The Americans face Australia, a first-round Olympic foe, on July 21 in Blaine, Minn., and China on Aug. 1 in Hartford, Conn.

SUMMARY
Saturday, July 3 at Nashville, Tenn.

United States 1 Canada 0. Goal: Mitts 73.

United States — Luckenbill; Mitts, Reddick, Markgraf, Rampone; Boxx; Foudy (O'Reilly, 69), Wagner (Hucles, 75), Lilly (Tarpley, 60); Wambach (Parlow, 69), Hamm.

Canada — Swiatek; Hermus, Hooper, Zurrer, Nault (Morneau, 46); Neil, Timko, Matheson, Lang (Jamani, 73); Latham (Tancredi, 79), Sinclair.

Yellow cards: None.

Referee: Kari Seitz (U.S.).

Att.: 9,110.

U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
2004 SCHEDULE

Four Nations
Jan. 30 at Shenzhen, China: United States 3 (Boxx 13, Tarpley 51, 66) Sweden 0
Feb. 1 at Shenzhen, China: United States 0 China 0
Feb. 3 at Shenzhen, China: United States 2 (Tarpley 13, Fawcett pen. 81) Canada 0

CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Feb. 25 at San Jose, Costa Rica: United States 7 (Boxx 22, 37, 81, Lilly 25, Hamm 41, 44, Wambach 42) Trinidad & Tobago 0
Feb. 27 at Heredia, Costa Rica: United States 8 (Wagner 12, Parlow 17, 73, 87, own goal Fenelon 41, MacMillan 47, Tarpley 63, Wambach 81) Haiti 0
Feb. 29 at San Jose, Costa Rica: United States 2 (own goal Castillo 10, Wambach 26) Mexico 0
March 3 at San Jose, Costa Rica: United States 4 (Wagner 5, Wambach 26, Lilly 29, Boxx 51) Costa Rica 0
March 5 at Heredia, Costa Rica: United States 3 (Tarpley 45, Wambach 79, Foudy 84) Mexico 2 (Dominguez 9, 15)

Algarve Cup
March 14 at Ferreiras, Portugal: United States 5 (Wambach 16, Hamm pen. 27, Hucles 31, 33, Tarpley 47) France 1 (Bompastor 48)
March 16 at Quarteira, Portugal: United States 1 (Hucles 61) Denmark 0
March 18 at Lagos, Portugal: United States 1 (Reddick 85) Sweden 3 (Andersson 34, Oqvist 48, 56)
March 20 at Faro, Portugal: United States 4 (Wambach 30, 39, 51, Tarpley 42) Norway 1 (Riise 38)

Friendlies
April 24 at Birmingham, Ala.: United States 5 (Foudy 13, Wambach 31, 42, Welsh 86, Hamm 87) Brazil 1 (Marta 55)
May 9 at Albuquerque, N.M.: United States 3 (Parlow 52, Hamm 64, Chalupny 87) Mexico 0
June 6 at Louisville, Ky.: United States 1 (Wambach 59) Japan 1 (Arakawa 20)
July 3 at Nashville, Tenn.: United States 1 (Mitts 73) Canada 0
July 21 at Blaine, Minn.: vs. Australia at National Sports Center, 6 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. EDT); TV: ESPN2 (live)
Aug. 1 at Hartford, Conn.: vs. China at Retschler Field, 3 p.m. EDT; TV: ESPN2 (live)

Athens Olympics
Aug. 11: at Heraklio, Greece: vs. Greece at Pankritio Stadium, 6 p.m. EEST (11 a.m. EDT); TV: TBA
Aug. 14 at Thessaloniki, Greece: vs. Brazil at Kaftanzoglio Stadium, 6 p.m. EEST (11 a.m. EDT); TV: TBA
Aug. 17 at Thessaloniki, Greece: vs. Australia at Kaftanzoglio Stadium, 6 p.m. EEST (11 a.m. EDT); TV: TBA
Aug. 20 at TBA: Quarterfinals in Patras, Thessaloniki, Heraklio and Volos, 6 p.m. EEST (11 a.m. EDT) or 9 p.m. EEST (2 p.m. EDT); TV: TBA
Aug. 23 at Heraklio or Patras, Greece: Semifinals at Pankritio Stadium, 6 p.m. EEST (11 a.m. EDT) or at Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, 9 p.m. EEST (2 p.m. EDT)
Aug. 26 at Athens, Greece: Gold/Bronze matches at Karaiskaki Stadium, 6 p.m. EEST (11 a.m. EDT) and 9 p.m. EEST (2 p.m. EDT); TV: TBA