:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64040435/190525_SBFC_vs_Thorns_Captioned_11.0.jpg)
Sky Blue FC have traded forward Savannah McCaskill to the Chicago Red Stars, as first reported by The Equalizer and later confirmed by an official team announcement.
In return, the New Jersey-based club received a first-round and second-round pick in the 2020 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) College Draft.
“We were looking for another player with different attacking qualities than what we currently have to continue to improve our attacking options,” Chicago Head Coach Rory Dames said in his team’s official announcement. “We believe Savannah checked the boxes we were looking for to improve both our team on the field and in our locker room.”
McCaskill came to Sky Blue as the No. 2 pick in the 2018 NWSL Dispersal Draft after being selected as the No. 2 overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft by the now-defunct Boston Breakers. The 22-year-old forward made 26 appearances in her two seasons with the club, tallying three goals and an assist.
The news of McCaskill’s trade comes just over a week after the news that forward McKenzie Meehan had been traded to the North Carolina Courage in exchange for midfielder Elizabeth Eddy.
The back-to-back trades of McCaskill and Meehan continues the trend of a mass exodus of players from Sky Blue to greener pastures. Over the past two seasons, Sky Blue has lost 15 players: two retired, two were waived, six went overseas to play, and five were traded to other NWSL clubs.
That’s not including the trades of Kelley O’Hara and Taylor Lytle to Utah Royals FC or Sam Kerr and Nikki Stanton to Chicago, all of which transpired ahead of the 2018 season.
Sky Blue also only has one win in two seasons (1-12-19) under Head Coach Denise Reddy, who was hired as head coach ahead of the 2018 season.
In other NWSL news, the league officially announced the site of the 2019 NWSL Championship. The final will be played at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina on Sunday, October 27. That match will kick off at 4 p.m. ET.