McCaskill recaps Wave preseason and previews first match against Gotham FC
San Diego Wave FC free agent signing Savannah McCaskill speaks with Sandiego.futbol about preseason and upcoming NWSL Challenge Cup match against NWSL Champions, Gotham FC. (Abraham Zepeda)
The National Women’s Soccer League season has officially begun as teams play their regular season matches this upcoming weekend. It all starts Friday with the newest iteration of the NWSL Challenge Cup where the NWSL Shield winners, San Diego Wave FC, face off against the NWSL Champions, New Jersey/New York Gotham FC in New Jersey, at Red Bull Arena.
New Wave midfielder Savannah McCaskill spoke with Sandiego.futbol before training Tuesday morning about her first preseason with the Wave and the upcoming match against Gotham.
“(Preseason’s) been good, we basically got straight into work. Casey (Stoney) really has a good structure that she’s laid out for us and how we want to play, our principles and how we’re going to go about the season,” McCaskill said. “I think the goals are pretty clear, we want to win (the) regular season again and finally get our hands on the trophy.”
McCaskill has played for four different teams— Sky Blue FC, Chicago Red Stars, Racing Louisville and Angel City FC — in the NWSL before signing a three-year contract with the Wave over the offseason when she became a free agent for the first time in her career.
“I’ve always said that every team that I’ve played on has been a stepping stone for me and I’ve taken certain things from each team that I’ve played for,” McCaskill said. “Being here and a part of San Diego now, I think that it’s obvious that we really want to be a football first club and we want to set the standard of women's soccer both on and off the field.
“Casey (Stoney) really does a good job of outlining how she wants to play, how she wants us to play, how she wants us to carry ourselves. That kind of expectation that’s set from the top really helps us as players know exactly how to show up every single day and how we demand standards from each other and ourselves. I think it's just setting us up for success on the field going forward this season.”
Gotham won the NWSL Championship in San Diego last season with a hard-fought victory over OL Reign, and added to their championship roster in the offseason including three United States Women’s National Team mainstays in Crystal Dunn, Emily Sonnett and Rose Lavelle.
The Wave have faced and beaten Gotham in all four of their previous meetings and outscored them by 10 goals to Gotham’s one.
“It’ll be exciting. They've had a lot of new signings over the offseason, I think What better way to test yourself going into (the) regular season than against the team that won it all last year,” McCaskill said. “It’ll be a good way for us to measure where we’re at, but also we want to win, and it will be a great way to kick off the season.”
The challenge cup will not count toward the regular season standings, but does come with a cash prize for all players involved. $3,500 per player on the winning team, $2,200 per player on the losing team and a $2,000 bonus to the match MVP according to Jeff Kassouf of Equalizer Soccer.
“We want to win anything that we possibly can and trophies are always fun to win, so I think it adds a little bit extra motivation,” McCaskill said. “The fact that it’s the first game that’s for real, it’s not a preseason game. I think everyone will be pretty stoked for it, but obviously anytime you can win a trophy it’s exciting and we’re going to do our best to get our hands on it.”
The match will take place on Friday, at 5:00 p.m. PST and be broadcasted on Amazon Prime Video as part of the league’s newest broadcast deal. The rest of the teams in the NWSL begin their regular season matches on Saturday and Sunday across various times and platforms.
