A lot — perhaps too much — was expected from Rachel Hill entering the 2018 NWSL season. The University of Connecticut product had come off a promising rookie season in which she scored three goals and assisted on another in just 14 games (eight starts). That was followed with a standout season in the Australian W-League, where Hill played lights out for Perth Glory over the NWSL off-season, scoring the third-most goals (9) in the league and leading all players in assists (6).
Maybe it was an unfair expectation, but it seemed like Hill would slot into the forward line next to Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux to form one of the most dynamic attacking trios the NWSL had ever seen.