PORTLAND, Ore. – As Portland began its transition into the city’s COVID-19 lockdown, Raquel Rodríguez was in the air, and in airports, making her way from an old home to a new.
This was March. It was two months after the only team she had played for in the National Women’s Soccer League, Sky Blue FC, agreed to trade her rights to the Portland Thorns. During her four seasons in New Jersey, she’d won a Rookie of the Year award, established herself as one of the team’s most valuable players, and evolved into a different player.