What The Heart Wants

Imperfect Science

Carm went upstairs to the team offices to call for an ambulance to come to the training complex. After completing her call, she stopped into Wendy's office to give her the news.

Carm: Wendy, Bianca went down during one of the drills. She said she heard a pop when she tried to pull her foot out of the turf.

Wendy: Great. The one position where we REALLY have no depth and we could potentially lose one of our opening-day starters for the season.

Carm: I ordered an ambulance which will take her to Jefferson University Hospitals. An MRI will be done to see what the damage is. From there, we can discuss what we'll do to fill the void. Brad thinks it's her left knee, but it could also be something in the foot based on where she grabbed.

Wendy: We have Morgan Reid coming in Monday and Tuesday on trial. If we have to put Bianca on the Season-Ending Injury list, she could fill the open roster spot. The bigger concern for you and Erica I'm sure is how to replace her in the back line on Sunday and going forward.

Carm: We'll talk about it after training and come up with some kind of plan for Sunday, then consider the long-term issue for who we can pair with Cari.

Carm headed back down to the field, where the paramedics had just taken Bianca out to the ambulance.

Carm: I filled Wendy in on what happened. Did Brad determine anything more conclusive after I left?

Erica: How Bianca described it, she twisted her leg to get the foot out and felt her knee explode because the studs wouldn't release.

Carm: At least one of the ligaments went, then, maybe more. How do we replace her in the XI for Sunday?

Erica: We can't get Ochs up to speed quick enough to try her alongside Cari in that match. I don't particularly doubt that they could do well as a duo given their playing together in Houston alongside one another in the back, but Sunday shouldn't be a crash course in it. I could see giving her some time back there later in the scrimmage to see how she does. As for starting, it has to be either Becca or Ali. If it's Kriegs, Morgan plays in front of her. If it's Becca, Ali stays at the 6.

Carm: Should we work those four as our CBs in the 9v9? Have Cari pair with both Becca and Ali during it and give Steph a full run at playing back there for future reference?

Erica: What else can we do? Let's go ahead and see what happens.

Carm broke up the players into the following two sides: Steph Labbe; Liz, Becca, Cari, Cami; Diana; Jen, Kristie; Steph McCaffrey/EJ; Mana, Steph Ochs, Ali, Erin; Morgan; Savannah, Stephany; Frannie. The first team began gelling fairly well. The back line stayed solid and Jen and Kristie were able to pressure Mana and Erin, leaving Diana to cheat up behind McCaffrey and then Becca to slide up the field as well. After 30 minutes, Ali and Becca switched sides and Sammy Jo came in for Steph Labbe, moving EJ to the other team. The second half saw little difference in the first team's defensive posture, but the second team lacked cohesion through the middle, resulting in greater offensive output from the starters' front four.

At the conclusion of the scrimmage, Erica called everyone in and informed them that, due to the friendly against Sky Blue on Sunday, there would be no training tomorrow but that they would be getting together on Saturday to do a walk-through. As the players broke up and headed to the locker room, Mana approached Erica and asked if she could speak with her. The two of them went up to her office.

Erica: What's on your mind, Mana?

Mana: I'm not doing well mentally right now. Part of me thinks I rushed coming back to play when I wasn't yet 100 percent healed from the issues that caused me to leave the Thorns toward the end of last season. Another part of me misses my person and the stability I had with her during my break from the game.

Erica: I'm sorry to hear that. Did Gavin know about all of this?

Mana: Some. He knew that my girlfriend and I broke up around August, but I didn't tell him that I was starting to date someone on the Thorns before I left.

Erica: Thus why we didn't know about that when we made the trade for you. If you're comfortable, can you disclose which player it is?

Mana: Mallory Weber. I know she played for you at Penn State, but I didn't feel as though I could ask you to work on getting her since you had a full roster.

Erica: Do you want to go back to Portland?

Mana: In all seriousness, yes.

Erica: I'll talk to Wendy about it and see what we can do. Sit tight.

Erica walked over to Wendy's office and asked her to come back to hers. Wendy took a seat and Erica filled her in on what Mana told her.

Wendy: I wish we had known all of this at the Draft because we would have either requested another player or tried to create a package to bring both of you to Philly. It may take a little bit of time to get a deal done to send you back to Portland, because we also have that center back need with Bianca possibly out for the season. You can't officially re-join the Thorns until the trade is finalized, but if you want to head out there ahead of that, feel free to do so.

Mana: Thank you, Wendy. I'm sorry that things aren't going to work out for me here, but the Hearts have been nothing but welcoming to me and shown me that they truly embrace the idea of loving out loud.

Wendy: We're sorry that things have been so rough on you the past several months. Re-locating when you don't feel grounded in your own self, I can't imagine the difficulty of that. Steph told me on Monday that she didn't think you were adjusting very well to being here and that something seemed to be wrong, so it isn't particularly a surprise that you came to us about this.

Mana: She and I talked over lunch yesterday and she encouraged me to bring my struggle to the two of you in the hopes of coming up with a solution. She and Ali are truly awesome as the team's big sisters. The tone they set in the locker room and with the team creates a sense of trust that the players seem to have with one another.

Wendy: The two of them are very special individuals and I am so thankful that Washington and Orlando were dumb enough to leave them exposed for the expansion draft.

Mana: Can you work on getting me a flight to Portland for tomorrow late morning?

The general manager pulled up her Expedia app and found one to Portland that would leave at 10:20am with a layover in Phoenix. After confirming with Mana that she wanted that flight, Wendy booked it for her. With all business handled, Mana got up and hugged both Wendy and Erica, thanking them again for the opportunity in Philly and for understanding her desire to return to Portland. She then left the complex and went home to begin packing for tomorrow's departure.