The question about Gotham FC switched this week from “How is Midge Purce?” to “How do they replace Midge Purce?” — such is the unrelenting march of a soccer season.
Purce, the valuable forward who was the MVP of the 2023 NWSL championship game and regularly features for the United States women’s national team, was ruled out for the season Wednesday because of a torn ACL suffered in Gotham’s regular-season opener.
“On and off the field, she’s such a great leader, she’s such a great teammate,” Gotham left back Jenna Nighswonger said. “And you see this on the field, too, she’s such a hard worker. So we’re just wishing her the best. Everyone’s gutted.”
Now a team that prevailed in last year’s playoff tournament before making a number of high-profile offseason additions will have to turn to its depth ahead of Saturday night’s match against North Carolina.
Maybe it’s not a like-for-like replacement — Purce is an adept two-way player known for rampaging runs on the wings — but they have options.
“The way we work prepares us for these kinds of situations,” head coach Juan Carlos Amorós said. “This team, what we have is resilience and overcoming when situations like this happen and we’re ready for it.”
Acknowledging Purce “was the one performing the best at that spot the past couple of games,” Amorós then dropped several names.
First was Yazmeen Ryan, who made 24 starts for Gotham last season across all competitions, mostly in a midfield role. Ryan provided the game-winning assist after coming on in relief of Purce in Sunday’s 1-0 victory in Portland.
“Yazmeen basically won the game with that action from the right wing,” Amorós said.
He name-dropped marquee newcomer Crystal Dunn, as well as veterans Katie Stengel, Ella Stevens and Kelley O’Hara, a defender who has played forward in the past.
Amorós also referred to an overall offensive philosophy of “organized chaos, where we try to confuse the opposition with our movements” and being relatively position-less.
Meanwhile, star attackers Lynn Williams and Rose Lavelle remain sidelined due to injuries of their own.
It has not been a forgiving launch to the year for an ambitious Gotham team.
The Courage (1-1-0) will be the third consecutive 2023 playoff team Gotham has faced to open the campaign — including their loss to San Diego Wave in the one-off Challenge Cup — with the latter two coming on the road.
“When you look at the calendar … it was a difficult challenge,” Amorós said. “We went to Portland, we battled, we got three points. And that’s the same mentality that we’re taking this week.”
Add in the emotional toll of losing Purce.
Amorós declined to answer a question Thursday about precisely when in the match Purce had been injured, instead pointing to his opening remarks, in which said, in part, “She has been an integral part of our team’s success, both on and off the field, and we feel deeply for her.”
Saturday’s 7 p.m. Eastern game is streaming via NWSL+, which is available for free with signup on the NWSL’s website and on the league’s app on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire Stick.