McCaskill's Non-Stop Motor Carries Over To Professional Career
(Former South Carolina All American Savannah All American Will Play in the Grand Finals in Australia)
2/12/2019 10:24:00 AM
By: Brad Muller, Director of Content
Former South Carolina All-American and two-time SEC Offensive Player of the Year Savannah McCaskill (2014-2017) continues to add to her impressive soccer resume. After an outstanding rookie year in the National Women's Soccer League and playing six matches with the U.S. National Team, McCaskill has been playing professionally in Australia's W-League for Sydney FC where she has helped the Sky Blues reach the Grand Finals (championship game) next Saturday. For the last year and half, McCaskill has been non-stop, just like her on-field persona.
"I'm definitely not worn down," McCaskill said. "The good thing about Australia is that I'm playing competitive soccer, but it's kind of like a vacation at the same time. It hasn't been as stressful. I enjoy playing, and I couldn't imagine having an offseason for four and a half months where I wasn't playing in games.
"I went home after the NWSL season for about a month before I went to Australia, and I was able to decompress a little bit and catch up with friends. That was important because it made me realize and appreciate all that I had done in the previous nine or ten months. It's been a busy year, that's for sure."
McCaskill never did sit still for very long. She is still only 22 years old. After graduating from South Carolina in three and a half years with a degree in exercise science and being the second overall pick in the 2018 NWSL draft, McCaskill didn't disappoint in her first season with Sky Blue FC (New Jersey) as she was a finalist of the for the league's Rookie of the Year award. Her 3 goals were the second most of any rookie in the league last year, while her 3 assists led all of the league's first-year players. She carried that momentum to Australia where she helped her team finish third in the regular season.
"Coming in with confidence and being able to come to a new team I knew nothing about is where playing in the NWSL and with Team USA helped," McCaskill said. "It has helped me adapt to any situation that I'm thrown into. That will continue to help me in my career with any team I play with.
"It's been a good experience. It's nice to keep playing games and have fun playing. The team has been good. There are four Americans on the team, and the rest are Australian. We have six players that played with the Australian National Team [which qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup this June], so the level of training has been really good. It's been nice to keep playing with such high-quality players."
"The teammates and friends I had there and the experiences I had with back-to-back SEC Championships and the Final Four, I was lucky to be a part of that."
- Savannah McCaskill
McCaskill has tallied 3 goals and 2 assists for Sydney FC, and while she is all business when she steps on the pitch, she hasn't forgotten to enjoy life off the pitch and exploring all that a different country has to offer.
"Australia is really cool. The beaches are amazing," McCaskill said. "We had the opportunity to snorkel and scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef, which was awesome. We've been able to do a lot of stuff just for fun.
"There isn't that big of a culture change. The food is actually a lot better here than in the States. Everything is so fresh. I'll definitely miss the food and the coffee here when I go home."
Even with the good food and java, McCaskill admits she is not a fan of vegemite, the traditional Australian food spread. McCaskill said she doesn't get homesick, and her parents were able to visit during Christmas.
"I'm kind of in my own little bubble out here," McCaskill said. "It will be weird when I go home because I haven't been there in four months. My parents were here for Christmas and New Year's, and we got to watch the fireworks at Sydney Harbor."
McCaskill will come back to South Carolina to spend some time with family, but she won't have too much time to hang up her cleats as preseason for the NWSL begins on March 4.
"I'll spend three or four days back home, and then go back up to training," McCaskill said. "Looking back, college was awesome. The teammates and friends I had there and the experiences I had with back-to-back SEC Championships and the Final Four, I was lucky to be a part of that. Hopefully the program will do that again soon. I definitely miss it."
McCaskill hopes to get another opportunity with Team USA, and with the 2019 FIFA World Cup coming up this summer in France, she would certainly love the opportunity to help the Americans defend their title.
"That's everyone's goal, to make that roster," McCaskill said. "I have to just wait and see if I get called in again. For now, I just have to keep playing."
(Former South Carolina All American Savannah All American Will Play in the Grand Finals in Australia)
2/12/2019 10:24:00 AM
By: Brad Muller, Director of Content
Former South Carolina All-American and two-time SEC Offensive Player of the Year Savannah McCaskill (2014-2017) continues to add to her impressive soccer resume. After an outstanding rookie year in the National Women's Soccer League and playing six matches with the U.S. National Team, McCaskill has been playing professionally in Australia's W-League for Sydney FC where she has helped the Sky Blues reach the Grand Finals (championship game) next Saturday. For the last year and half, McCaskill has been non-stop, just like her on-field persona.
"I'm definitely not worn down," McCaskill said. "The good thing about Australia is that I'm playing competitive soccer, but it's kind of like a vacation at the same time. It hasn't been as stressful. I enjoy playing, and I couldn't imagine having an offseason for four and a half months where I wasn't playing in games.
"I went home after the NWSL season for about a month before I went to Australia, and I was able to decompress a little bit and catch up with friends. That was important because it made me realize and appreciate all that I had done in the previous nine or ten months. It's been a busy year, that's for sure."
McCaskill never did sit still for very long. She is still only 22 years old. After graduating from South Carolina in three and a half years with a degree in exercise science and being the second overall pick in the 2018 NWSL draft, McCaskill didn't disappoint in her first season with Sky Blue FC (New Jersey) as she was a finalist of the for the league's Rookie of the Year award. Her 3 goals were the second most of any rookie in the league last year, while her 3 assists led all of the league's first-year players. She carried that momentum to Australia where she helped her team finish third in the regular season.
"Coming in with confidence and being able to come to a new team I knew nothing about is where playing in the NWSL and with Team USA helped," McCaskill said. "It has helped me adapt to any situation that I'm thrown into. That will continue to help me in my career with any team I play with.
"It's been a good experience. It's nice to keep playing games and have fun playing. The team has been good. There are four Americans on the team, and the rest are Australian. We have six players that played with the Australian National Team [which qualified for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup this June], so the level of training has been really good. It's been nice to keep playing with such high-quality players."
"The teammates and friends I had there and the experiences I had with back-to-back SEC Championships and the Final Four, I was lucky to be a part of that."
- Savannah McCaskill
McCaskill has tallied 3 goals and 2 assists for Sydney FC, and while she is all business when she steps on the pitch, she hasn't forgotten to enjoy life off the pitch and exploring all that a different country has to offer.
"Australia is really cool. The beaches are amazing," McCaskill said. "We had the opportunity to snorkel and scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef, which was awesome. We've been able to do a lot of stuff just for fun.
"There isn't that big of a culture change. The food is actually a lot better here than in the States. Everything is so fresh. I'll definitely miss the food and the coffee here when I go home."
Even with the good food and java, McCaskill admits she is not a fan of vegemite, the traditional Australian food spread. McCaskill said she doesn't get homesick, and her parents were able to visit during Christmas.
"I'm kind of in my own little bubble out here," McCaskill said. "It will be weird when I go home because I haven't been there in four months. My parents were here for Christmas and New Year's, and we got to watch the fireworks at Sydney Harbor."
McCaskill will come back to South Carolina to spend some time with family, but she won't have too much time to hang up her cleats as preseason for the NWSL begins on March 4.
"I'll spend three or four days back home, and then go back up to training," McCaskill said. "Looking back, college was awesome. The teammates and friends I had there and the experiences I had with back-to-back SEC Championships and the Final Four, I was lucky to be a part of that. Hopefully the program will do that again soon. I definitely miss it."
McCaskill hopes to get another opportunity with Team USA, and with the 2019 FIFA World Cup coming up this summer in France, she would certainly love the opportunity to help the Americans defend their title.
"That's everyone's goal, to make that roster," McCaskill said. "I have to just wait and see if I get called in again. For now, I just have to keep playing."
