Hailie Mace’s USWNT Call Up Crystalizes A Breakout Season

When the Kansas City Current acquired Hailie Mace on July 22, 2021, she was largely seen as the throw in to a trade that saw NWSL legend Amy Rodriguez being sent to North Carolina for Kristen Hamilton, Katelyn Rowland and Mace — at that point Hallie Mace was seen as a bit of an unknown commodity.

A versatile player who opted to play in Sweden after being drafted by Sky Blue FC, but her play in Sweden — and Australia’s W-League — signaled that she had the potential to be a star player. A MAC Herman Trophy semi-finalist at UCLA, Mace was selected 2nd Overall by Sky Blue after a strong showing with Melbourne in Australia’s W-League.

However, Mace decided to sign with Malmo based Rosengard instead,

“When speaking to them on the phone, they knew a lot about me as a player and it let me impressed and thinking I will fit in well with their style of play”.

Sky Blue FC’s problems at the time are well documented, and Mace’s decision was seen as less of an issue with Mace and more of an issue with Sky Blue’s management.