The Thorns are going to be missing quite a few senior players off their roster in the opening month. Hayley Raso, Ellie Carpenter, and Andressinha are away for World Cup qualifiers until the end of April. Gabby Seiler, Sandra Yu, and Angela Salem are away at school until May, though Salem will be occasionally available. With Emily Menges picking up a knock in preseason and Tobin Heath still yet to fully recover from ankle surgery, the squad isn’t quite at the level of not being able to fill the bench, but its limits are being stretched.