Savannah McCaskill leaves Angel City FC in pursuit of a dream

Free agency in the National Women’s Soccer League reached a new level this season.

The league’s second-ever free agency period had more than 70 players, with at least five years of experience, eligible to test the market.

One of those was Savannah McCaskill.

The 27-year-old midfielder, who spent the past two seasons as an integral part of Angel City Football Club, made the move Wednesday, signing with San Diego Wave FC on a three-year contract.

“Being a free agent and the first time that I was having the ability to make a decision on where I played, I started exploring. And the biggest thing for me this offseason was if I was going to make a move, it was going to be a move that was going to take my career to a new level and push me in ways that I haven’t been pushed before and also help in the pursuit of winning a championship,” McCaskill said Thursday. “You know what San Diego’s already done in the last two years, by making playoffs and being really successful, I think that it was a good fit for me to continue to pursue that dream that I have for myself.”

McCaskill joined Angel City ahead of the club’s inaugural season in a trade with Racing Louisville FC. In 44 games, she scored 11 goals with five assists, as she engineered the offense out of the midfield.

Along with defender along with Sarah Gorden, McCaskill was one of Angel City’s biggest free agents. General manager Angela Hucles Mangano said earlier this offseason that she “hoped” both would be back with the club. Angel City was able to re-sign Gorden to a new three-year contract earlier this week.

After being on one side of the newest rivalry in the NWSL, McCaskill is making the switch.

“I have been a part of the rivalry for the past two years now and I understand that I’m gonna have to win the fans over,” she said. “I’m gonna have to show up and perform and prove that I’m loyal to San Diego now and that’s something that I’m willing to take on board.

“I know going back to BMO Stadium, it’s going to be mixed emotions now and I’ll probably get some boos, but I think the rivalry is great and this is what we want to see in this league, this rivalry having supporters on both sides go for their teams.”

McCaskill had never spent more than one season with a club before arriving at Angel City. It was a stop that she ended up needing.

“Where I was at in my career going into L.A., I needed to put all of the lessons that I had learned from Sky Blue, Chicago and Louisville and kind of put them all into one player,” she said. “I think I started to show that toward the end of this last year. What I can really be and the impact I can have in games and in training sessions and become the complete player that I wanted to be.

“That’s something that I will always hold very special and be very thankful for my time in L.A., for allowing me the opportunity and the platform in order to put all those pieces together and grow into the player that I wanted to be. This past season, making playoffs for the first time and all of the other successes we had, my time at Angel City was definitely special and I’m really grateful they took a chance on me and took me from Louisville and allowed me the chance to represent L.A. for the time I was there.

“Whenever you have to move forward from an environment that allowed you to grow as a player and person, it’s always sad, but I’ll always be grateful for the time that I had there.”