Questions about Gotham FC switched this week from “What about Midge Peirce?” “How do I replace Midge Peirce?” — this is the constant march of football season.
Peirce, a valuable forward who is the MVP of the 2023 NWSL Championship Game and a regular on the U.S. Women’s National Team, announced Wednesday that she will be retired for the season after sustaining a torn ACL in Gotham’s regular season opener. It has been decided that he will be absent.
“She’s such a great leader and such a great teammate on and off the field,” Gotham left back Jenna Neiswonger said. “And you see it on the field, she’s a very hard worker. So we wish her nothing but the best. She’s all heart broken.”
The team, which won last year’s playoff tournament and made a number of high-profile additions in the offseason, will need to look at its depth heading into Saturday night’s game against North Carolina.
Maybe it’s not a comparable replacement — Perth is a skilled two-way player known for running wild on the wing — but they have options.
“The way we work prepares us for situations like this,” head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said. “This team, what we have is resiliency and overcoming when situations like this happen, and we’re ready for it.”
Amoros acknowledged that Perth was “the best performer on the spot in the last few games,” and then dropped several names.
The first is Yazmeen Ryan, who started 24 games across all competitions for Gotham last season, primarily playing in a midfield role. Ryan came on in relief for Perth in Sunday’s game against Portland and provided an assist in the win.
“Yazmeen basically won the game with her action from the right side,” Amoros said.
He named newcomer Crystal Dunn as well as veterans Katie Stengel, Ella Stevens and defenseman Kelly O’Hara, who has played forward in the past.
Amoros also noted that the overall offensive philosophy is “organized chaos, trying to confuse the opponent with our movements” and being relatively positionless.
Meanwhile, star attackers Lynn Williams and Rose Lovell remain sidelined due to their own injuries.
It’s been a brutal start to the year for the ambitious Gotham team.
The Courage (1-1-0) will be the third consecutive team Gotham will face in the opening round of the 2023 playoffs (including a one-off Challenge Cup loss to the San Diego Wave). , the latter two teams will participate.
“When you look at the calendar… it was a difficult challenge,” Amoros said. “We went to Portland, fought and got three points. That’s the same mindset we’re taking this week.”
There is also the added mental burden of losing perspective.
Amoros declined to answer questions Thursday about when exactly Perth suffered the injury during the game, instead giving his opening remarks, in which he said, “She is essential to the team’s success on and off the field. “It was a presence,” he said in part. And we feel deeply for her. ”
Saturday’s 7 p.m. Eastern game will be streamed via NWSL+ and available for free by signing up on the NWSL website and the league app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire Stick.
