It’s difficult to imagine a single NWSL game between two expansion sides having more hype than the first-ever match between the San Diego Wave and Los Angeles’ Angel City FC last season.

But as Angel City midfielder Savannah McCaskill remembers it, the SoCal rivalry didn’t actually begin until their first game had been played. The first match in the organizations’ history — a Challenge Cup group stage game in March 2022 — felt a bit like preseason, with neither team yet settled into their current home stadiums.

“Going into it, it didn’t feel as much of a rivalry game,” McCaskill said. That is, until the result on the field had both teams walking away ready for round two.

Angel City thought they had the match won after McCaskill’s header found the back of the net in the 49th minute, the first goal in club history. But a late equalizer by Wave defender Kaleigh Riehl produced a 1-1 draw that felt to Angel City more like a loss.

“How that game unfolded, with us scoring first and then them getting the tying goal, they left us feeling like we really wanted to beat them,” McCaskill said.

Kaleigh Riehl levels for San Diego 🌟

Scores her first-ever #NWSL goal and the first goal in club history ✨ pic.twitter.com/kQHR3sYfkW

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) March 20, 2022

The teams have now met five times in front of raucous crowds — San Diego has won three of those games, including the most recent two, while L.A. has earned one win and one draw. Angel City has a shot at redemption against their rivals on Saturday in San Diego, after falling at home in their first matchup this season, 2-0.

For McCaskill, the wins make all the difference. Growing up in South Carolina and staying in-state to play four years at the University of South Carolina, she hails from a region known for some of the most deep-seated rivalries in American sports.

“If you go to USC or you’re a South Carolina fan, you hate Clemson. I guess it’s in your DNA,” she said. “Didn’t matter if they were good that year, bad that year, didn’t matter. It was always a very heated rivalry game full of emotion, full of craziness, every single time we played them.”

After joining the NWSL in 2018, McCaskill had fewer chances to develop rivalry experiences. Drafted by the Boston Breakers — who then promptly folded — the 26-year-old played for Sky Blue (now Gotham) FC, the Chicago Red Stars and Racing Louisville before joining Angel City’s inaugural expansion roster.

McCaskill’s journey through the league before finding a home in L.A. allowed her to form a tight-knit yet widespread group of friends. Now, she’s used to facing former teammates on the other side of the pitch, which can make the intensity of a match a bit more personal.

“There’s something about beating your friends, it’s kind of fun,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t know if that’s mean, but it’s kind of fun to be able to play against your friends and have that banter back and forth.”

While they take care of business on the field, Angel City’s players want to leave the naming of the SoCal derby up to the fans, who have quickly taken ownership of the rivalry. With regional proximity still an NWSL rarity, supporters take advantage of the quick trip out of town to show up in droves. Angel City is expecting hundreds of supporters to make the drive to San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday.

The fan support has never wavered, but Angel City has struggled on the pitch this season, managing only two wins in 11 regular season matches. The Wave have forged a different path so far, rising to the top of the NWSL standings after becoming the first expansion side to make the playoffs in their inaugural season in 2022.

“I think we have got to show up, we have to do the dirty work well, we have to compete, we have to want to get into tackles,” McCaskill said, describing a gritty ability to close out games that became a team ethos in 2022 but has eluded Angel City in recent weeks.

The squad has no choice but to look at the derby as a step toward turning their season around. But they also understand what getting a win over a close rival would mean to Angel City’s fans.

“They really build on the huge rivalry piece and bring so much emotion and honor to us as players,” McCaskill said. “Why we’re competing and why the game really means so much is because it means so much to our supporters and the city of Los Angeles.”

The NWSL veteran says putting up a fight will go a long way toward achieving the ultimate goal, regardless of the result. And for McCaskill personally, winning would erase a piece of recent history that still haunts her.

“It’s no secret, I missed my (penalty) the last time we were down there this last year,” she said, referring to goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan’s diving save on her 74th-minute penalty kick in a 1-0 loss last September. “So, I would love to be able to score in that stadium and get that monkey off my back.”

Like any good playmaker, McCaskill can remember both the goals scored and the chances missed. In a match of this magnitude, she’s hoping for more memories that will help build a passionate rivalry for years to come.

“I’m all for a goal that makes the crowd go crazy,” she said. “And even better, to take it a step further, if your team scores a goal and the other team’s supporters have to clap for you because it was that good — that’s a crazy moment.”

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

The Chicago Sky made a splash in Monday night’s WNBA draft, taking Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese in the first round. 

South Carolina’s Cardoso, who was the 2024 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, went third to the Sky. The day before, the team had swapped picks with the Minnesota Lynx to land the No. 7 pick as well, which they used on Reese, the 2023 Final Four MOP.

Now, the two will team up in Chicago after battling each other in both college and high school

"She’s a great player, and I’m a great player. Nobody's going to get no rebounds on us," Cardoso joked afterwards, while Reese expressed excitement about playing under new Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon.

"Being able to be a Black woman and as a head coach, and everything she's done at the NBA level, I just knew everything they were bringing to the table," Reese said of the Sky. "Player development is something that I was looking for and they looked for in me. I'm super excited for this move."

Former NBA star and Chicago Sky co-owner Dwayne Wade welcomed the pair to Chicago.

“The foundation is set,” he wrote.

The foundation is set. Welcome Kamilla Cardoso x Angel Reese @chicagosky @WNBA

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) April 16, 2024

The Sky have entered re-building mode after winning a WNBA title in 2021. This offseason, they traded franchise cornerstone Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury for a package that included the No. 3 picked used on Cardoso.

Now, Cardoso and Reese will be looking to jump-start the team's return to contention.

Caitlin Clark is officially a member of the Indiana Fever, with the Iowa superstar going No. 1 overall in the WNBA draft on Monday night. 

Clark has been the consensus top pick since declaring for the draft on February 29, a few weeks before the onset of Women's March Madness. But for her, the call up was still full of emotions. 

"When you're just sitting at a table waiting for your name to be called, that really allows the emotions to feed you," Clark said. "You're with your family — obviously, playing a basketball game, I'm not out there with my family — so sharing that moment with them and enjoying it, and people that have really had my back and believed in me more than anyone, is super special."

Clark wasn't the only one pausing to take in the moment. As fans and commentators noted during the broadcast, it took a little more time than usual for Indiana to announce their pick — Fever GM Lin Dunn later told the media that she spent 15 to 20 seconds ensuring Clark's card adhered perfectly to league regulations before handing it over. She didn't want anything to get in between her team and a player she calls a "perfect fit."

"She's from the Big Ten, the Midwest — is there any place better for her than Indianapolis, Indiana?" Dunn said. "I think this is the beginning of us getting back on track to win another championship."

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Clark echoed the sentiment.

"That's definitely our goal, is to get back to championship habits," Clark said. "For myself, I can't imagine a more perfect fit, a better place for me to start my professional career, an organization that really just believes in women's basketball and wants to do everything the right way. So I couldn't be more excited to get there."

She’s also particularly excited about linking up with former collegiate rival Aliyah Boston.

"Going to an organization that has, in my eyes, one of the best post players in the entire world, my point guard eyes just light up at that," Clark said of the former South Carolina star. "She's going to make my life easy."

Clark's four-year contract with the Indiana Fever has been reported at $338,000. Kicking off at the league's guaranteed first-year base salary of $76,535, it jumps to $97,582 by 2027.

In the hour following Indiana's official pick, sporting goods brand Fanatics sold out of the superstar player's No. 22 Fever jersey in nearly every available size. Each jersey retails for $99.99.

Caitlin Clark made a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, which quickly went viral.

The Iowa star showed up on the show’s Weekend Update segment to playfully call out Michael Che’s history of making jabs at women’s sports.

It started when Che joked that Iowa should replace Clark’s retired No. 22 “with an apron.” 

When Clark entered, Che said that he was a fan. But Clark wasn’t convinced – especially not when co-host Colin Jost brought the receipts of Che’s jabs.

“Really, Michael? Because I heard that little apron joke you did,” she said, before making him read some jokes of her own in retaliation. Clark finished her segment by shouting out the WNBA greats that came before her. She then got in one final dig – bringing Che a signed apron as a souvenir. 

She’s got jokes 😎@CaitlinClark22 on @nbcsnl #Hawkeyes

pic.twitter.com/54khqQw2MR

— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) April 14, 2024

When Che promised to give it to his girlfriend, Clark delivered her last playful dig of the night.

“You don’t have a girlfriend, Michael,” she said.

Afterward, SNL castmember Bowen Yang told People that the 22-year-old and teammates Gabbie Marshall, Kate Martin and Jada Gyamfi – who joined her at Studio 8H – “were so cool.”

“She's so charming and witty,” Yang said. “They were just the most stunning, noble people.

“Athletes just have this air about them. They know they're amazing. I mean, these are people who have numeric attachments and values to their performance. That's something that comedians never have.”

The Portland Thorns continue to struggle to start the NWSL season, falling 2-0 to the North Carolina Courage over the weekend to remain winless through their first four games. 

It’s uncharted territory for Portland, who has never started the NWSL regular season without a win in four games before.

Following the loss, defender Becky Sauerbrunn voiced her frustrations with the start. 

“It’s hard to find a lot of encouraging things, but what I find encouraging is that people are frustrated,” she said. “People are pissed off that we’re not doing well. We care, and I think that’s really important.” 

She also added that while the team will reflect individually, “there’s going to be no finger pointing.”

“We’re going to look at ourselves and figure out what we should have done, or I should have done better,” she said. “There is a list of things that I could have done better, and I’m going to make sure I know every single thing and watch this game back.”

The Thorns currently sit at the bottom of the league table with just one point, having allowed 10 goals – tied for the worst in the league. They’ve yet to lead in a match. And as questions grow, attention turns to head coach Mike Norris. 

Norris is in his second year as head coach of the club after leading the team to a second-place finish in the regular season last year. When asked about the possibility of pressure growing after the unprecedented start, Norris said that the pressure has been there “from day one.”

“I cannot be driven by my day-to-day and the longer vision of the pressure of the job,” he said. “We’ve got a belief in how we want to play, how we operate. We’ve got to stick with the process of that. While we do it, we have to review and see what is working, what’s not working.

“I’ll be showing up for the team and being there for what they need from me as we approach getting back together as a group next week.”