Gotham FC’s roster depth is being put to the check.
After choosing up their first win of the season Saturday, Gotham (1-2-1) flew to Los Angeles this week for the beginning of a nine-day, three-city highway journey.
Gotham opened the journey Friday with a 4-0 win over Angel Metropolis FC.
They’re scheduled to play on the Portland Thorns on Monday and on the Washington Spirit on April 26 earlier than returning house.
“Obviously, we need to prepare the team to win every game. That’s our target,” Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós mentioned Thursday. “But at the same time, we try to protect the players and the safety of the players comes always first. … We need the depth of the squad to really show. We need the players to step up. We need the team to get mentally strong. And I know these players have the experience of doing it.”
The problem of a grueling cross-country trek like that is exacerbated by the damage hits the crew has already endured this season.
Gotham opened coaching camp with out star midfielder Rose Lavelle, who’s nonetheless on the mend from offseason foot surgical procedure.
And membership captain Tierna Davidson suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament within the crew’s third match of the season.
Sofia Cook dinner (thigh) and veteran defender Ella Stevens (again) have been listed as out on the crew’s availability report for Friday’s match however are thought-about each day, based on the crew.
Goalkeepers Shelby Hogan and Ryan Campbell are additionally sidelined with accidents.
Hogan has been placed on the 45-day damage listing after present process what Amorós described as a “little procedure” on her thumb. Campbell can even miss this three-game swing after hurting her shoulder.
Their absences prompted Michelle Betos, Gotham’s assistant goalkeepers coach, to return out of retirement to function a backup.
The crew additionally signed former Princeton goalie Tyler McCamey as a short-term damage substitute.
The crew’s well being is its largest fear in the intervening time.
However Gotham is hoping it may use their first win as momentum builder.
“We have to lean on each other and make sure that everyone is ready,” defender Jess Carter mentioned. “Whether you start the game, whether you come on, whether you don’t come on — everyone is so important. And I think everyone, hopefully, realizes that. And we all need to be on our ‘A’ game, whether it’s in training, whether it’s in games, so that everyone is best prepared to get the three points in all of the games we have coming up.”
