Angel City’s Savannah McCaskill is a founding member of the club’s rivalry with the San Diego Wave. (Stephen Brashear/USA TODAY Sports)
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…
