Jan. 13, 2017
COLUMBIA, S.C. ââ’¬” South Carolina rising senior striker Savannah McCaskill will train with some of the top women’s soccer players in the world after being invited to participate in the U.S. Women’s National Team’s first training camp of 2017. USWNT coach Jill Ellis selected McCaskill to compete at the camp following the Chapin, S.C., native’s impressive showing at the U.S. U-23 Camp, which wrapped up Friday morning.
The Gamecock standout and four others selected from the U-23 camp will share the pitch with 29 top-class players throughout a stretch of the 11-day event that takes place Jan. 13-23 at the U.S. Soccer National Training Camp in Carson, Calif. Notable participants include 2016 FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyd, USWNT veteran Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who helped guide the Americans to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Title.
“These players showed very well during the U-23 camp, and this is a great opportunity to see how they perform in the highly competitive environment of January camp,” Ellis said. “Having a few more players in camp can help us in our 11v11 competition, and as I’ve said on many occasions, the majority of this year is about looking at new players so we can continue to expand our pool.”
McCaskill rewrote the Carolina’s record book in her junior campaign after setting single-season program records with 45 points and 17 goals. The 2016 SEC Offensive Player of the Year and NSCAA First-Team All-American was at her best when it counted the most, registering a school-record 10 game-winners to lead the Gamecocks to a program-best 21 victories.
Nationally, she ranked in the top three in game-winning goals (2nd) and total points (3rd), and her SEC-leading 17 tallies marked the sixth-best scoring output in Division I. McCaskill will enter her final year at Carolina listed third in career points (89), goals (32) and assists (25).
