Banged-up Gotham FC weathering a grueling test on nine-day road trip

Gotham FC’s roster depth is being put to the test. 

After picking up their first win of the season Saturday, Gotham (1-2-1) flew to Los Angeles this week for the start of a nine-day, three-city road trip. 

Gotham opened the trip Friday with a 4-0 win over Angel City FC.

They are scheduled to play at the Portland Thorns on Tuesday and at the Washington Spirit on April 26 before returning home. 

“Obviously, we need to prepare the team to win every game. That’s our target,” Gotham FC coach Juan Carlos Amorós said 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 challenge of a grueling cross-country trek like this is exacerbated by the injury hits the team has already endured this season. 

Gotham opened training camp without star midfielder Rose Lavelle, who’s still on the mend from offseason foot surgery.

And club captain Tierna Davidson suffered a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament in the team’s third match of the season. 

Sofia Cook (thigh) and veteran defender Ella Stevens (back) were listed as out on the team’s availability report for Friday’s match, but are considered day to day, according to the team. 

Backup goalkeepers Shelby Hogan and Ryan Campbell are also sidelined with injuries. 

Hogan has been put on the 45-day injury list after undergoing what Amorós described as a “little procedure” on her thumb. Campbell will also miss this three-game swing after hurting her shoulder. 

Their absences prompted Michelle Betos, Gotham’s assistant goalkeepers coach, to come out of retirement to serve as a backup.

The team also signed former Princeton goalie Tyler McCamey as a short-term injury replacement. 

The team’s health is its biggest worry at the moment.

But Gotham is hoping it can use their first win as momentum builder. 

“We have to lean on each other and make sure that everyone is ready,” defender Jess Carter said. “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.”