'My focus always is to play defense': The patient graft of NWSL rookie Macey Hodge

In 2019, Macey Hodge decided she didn't want to play football anymore. She declined her scholarship to Vanderbilt University, enrolled at the local university in Douglasville, Georgia, and got a job at a nearby Kroger supermarket.

"It really was just kind of like a rock bottom," Hodge told media two weeks ago.

Football had been Hodge's life. Almost her entire life. She had begun feeling that she had little worth outside the sport. That anxiety grew to be too much as family issues and mental health struggles intensified as she finished high school.

"It was a very interesting time... I really was so lost," Hodge reflected on the Mississippi State Of Mind podcast in 2024. "Now, finding the peace that it had to happen, and I am so glad it did."

Six months went by without touching a soccer ball. Hodge took a whole year off as she put her mental health first and started to regain her sense of self. After visiting an old childhood friend, Laney Steed, at the University of Florida, she felt a new drive to rediscover football.

Then, in 2020, she took a call from an old youth coach, Nick Zimmerman, who had joined the staff of Mississippi State University. Zimmerman had heard Hodge was ready to return to the game and persuaded her to head to Starkville, MS, to join their squad.

The Bulldog in midfield

By Hodge's second season with the Bulldogs she was nominated by her peers to be a captain, and had evolved into being a starter. While the journey wasn't easy, and the early sessions and her first season were daunting, the players and coaches at Mississippi State rekindled the joy she had left behind.

Hodge developed a reputation for one of the grittiest midfielders in college soccer. She was hawkish and unwavering. There was a new lease of life to the way she harried opponents, won tackles, and scanned for danger.

"My main focus is my defensive work. I'm really somebody that wants to break up play, kind of get stuck in to tackles," Hodge said two weeks ago about her playing style. "I really enjoy kind of doing the dirty work, Maybe some people don't find a lot of like glory in, but that's kind of like what I love to do."

In her final three seasons (2022-24), Hodge started 68 out of a possible 69 matches under head coach James Armstrong. In that time, Mississippi State evolved into a contender and national upstart.

In 2024, Hodge and the Bulldogs would go onto win their first-ever SEC regular season title built on stout defensive unit known as the 'Brick-line'. State won all 10 of their home matches in 2024 without conceding a goal.

Led by Hodge, who was voted SEC Midfielder of the Year, the team excelled as tremendously obstinate force that was happy to have less possession and unsettle opponents.

"Expect us to be in team's faces"

Hodge would sign her first professional contract with NWSL club Angel City FC in December 2024, a two-year deal through the 2026 season.

From taking a mental health break, going to therapy, and resetting with family; Hodge fulfilled her ambition to be a professional soccer player half a decade later.

The 23-year-old is the most unproven of an ACFC defensive midfield group that includes Alanna Kennedy, Lily Nabet and Madison Hammond. But her unrelenting approach could be very useful when it comes to winning the ball and feeding playmaker Katie Zelem.

"I think we're going to have a super high energy, a super strong press. And you can kind of expect us to be in team's faces, and not sitting back. Really trying to convert things, going forward at a quicker pace," Hodge said. "Take the ball and give it to the to the people that can put in the back of the net."

ACFC are heading into their fourth season, having made the playoffs and finished in the top six only once. The team has had a habit of dropping points from winning positions, struggling for consistency, and failing to perform under pressure.

After an intensive off-season in Los Angeles, Hodge is set play a vibrant role for ACFC in her rookie season. Her smothering style is expected to mesh well with the game model of sporting director Mark Parsons and interim head coach Sam Laity.

In the first week of the pre-season, Laity had individual meetings with the players to talk about their profiles and talents, while vocalizing how they could be nurtured in the team.

"We started with what the players are uniquely good at. That was part of the presentation on the first day. We're going to start with you and the things that you are uniquely good at, what makes you special. And we're going to start by trying to amplify those qualities and fit those into where we see the game model," Laity told media.

On the eve of the ACFC's first match, legendary forward Syd Leroux shocked the NWSL world by announcing she would be taking a break from football to focus on her mental health.

I'm sure Hodge of all people will understand Leroux's decision and the importance of prioritizing mental health.

Hodge's rise has been one of patient graft and self-reflection. And, it is those traits – empathy and character – that will be part of the reason she thrives, as a teammate and as a footballer.