On a Friday in late March, the National Women’s Soccer League — like several other professional sports associations in the United States before it — announced an indefinite suspension to the start of its season over safety concerns surrounding a coronavirus pandemic.
NWSL, looking to build off a wave of momentum sparked by the U.S. national team winning the World Cup only eight months earlier, was at a standstill. No timetable was set for play to start. Teams, as a health precaution, were prohibited from even conducting training sessions.
Stay-at-home orders became the norm nationwide. Businesses and industries suffered. Uncertainty abound.
For San Antonio native Liz Dalton, the scenario allowed for her to have a crucial role in making history.
Dalton, NWSL director of policy and player affairs and a MacArthur High School graduate, was pivotal in the NWSL being the first pro sports league to return to play during a coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 146,500 and inflicted about 4.2 million in the United States.
The Chicago Red Stars play the Houston Dash at 11:30 a.m. Sunday in Utah for the NWSL Challenge Cup title.
“We were trying to predict what was going to happen with the pandemic, and I think we all came to realize trying to predict it was a losing matter,” said Dalton, who was a standout goalkeeper at MacArthur and Texas A&M and later was athletic director at St. Mary’s University and deputy AD at UTSA. “We thought it was important to get in, play our competition, and then get everybody back to their home market before the outbreak resurface, somewhat like it’s doing now.”
The task wasn’t easy.
From the moment the league decided on March 20 to halt the start of the season, Dalton was in talks about how to have a season without putting coaches, players and staff at risk. There were plenty of “around the clock” video conferences and phone calls with board members and medical personnel, Dalton said. Her work day occasionally started at 8 a.m. and ended after midnight.
“We spent several weeks putting together different models for options for a season (round-robin play or a tournament),” Dalton said. “Our primary focus throughout this has been the health and safety of everyone involved.”
NWSL chose a 23-game tournament that would be played in two stadiums, without fans, in Herriman, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City. Eight teams — Orlando Pride SC withdrew five days before the competition kicked off after a combined 10 players and staffers tested positive for COVID-19 — competed in the month-long event.
Becoming a trendsetter in how pro sports leagues in the U.S. could exist in a COVID-19 world wasn’t a bed of roses. Each NWSL player, official, and essential staff were tested 48 hours prior to their departure from their respective city to Utah, and again once they arrived in Salt Lake City. They were subjected to temperature readings and symptom screenings during their stay, and had to wear masks whenever they went outside of their room — except for when they were exercising, training, playing or eating.
For the most part, players were sequestered, enduring a daily routine of temperature checks, workouts, meetings, breakfast and lunch at the practice facility, before returning to their living arrangements for dinner and down time. The league provided some entertainment options for players, such as games like Pop-a-Shot.
“The bubble lifestyle is no joke,” said Utah Royals FC goalkeeper Abby Smith, whose husband Travis is head girls soccer coach at Brandeis. A Reagan graduate, he previously was boys soccer coach at East Central.
“I don’t think I have interacted with anybody outside of our team or our staff in about three weeks,” said Abby Smith, a former standout at the University of Texas who has been called up to the U.S. national team.
The strict social-distancing policy was a necessary step, though. Smith said she had to document everything she did and anywhere she went (contract tracing) when she arrived in Utah from San Antonio two months ago. She and her teammates, since Utah was the host city, were urged to acquire any needed supplies, such as groceries, she they weren’t allowed to drive their own vehicles.
“It’s there way of trying to keep us as safe as possible,” said Smith, who added most players underwent about four nasal swabs from the preseason to competition. “It’s a lot, but with how the cases are, and how they keep rising, and everyone not able to get a hold of it, it seems like it’s the only way for them to have this tournament going.”
Nonetheless, the tournament was as much taxing mentally as physically. Olympique Lyonnais Reign FC forward Bethany Balcer posted on Twitter on July 13 that she had to leave a match early because she suffered from a panic attack. She lamented it was difficult to be mentally sharp and healthy in such an environment.
“It’s a tough lifestyle, just like when people struggled when the world was lock down and recommended to stay at home and use social distance,” Smith said. “You’re not allowed to be around your friends or your family. It’s the same for us. It’s hard mentally.
“But at the same time, a lot of people are really struggling with COVID because all versions of normal will no longer be the same. It’s weird not having fans at the game. At the same time, we all had come to terms that if we wanted to play, and we wanted to have somewhat of a season, this was the sacrifice we had to make.”
terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1