What it means: A-10 modifies schedule due to COVID-19 pandemic

URI head coach Megan Jessee addresses her team before a 2018 match against Dartmouth. (Mike Scott)

Theories of how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the 2020 college soccer season have turned into reality for Atlantic 10 programs.

The Division I conference, whose 14 members span from the Midwest to New England, has voted to reduce the number of A-10 regular-season games by 25 percent. The conference tournament will also now consist of four teams instead of eight.

The decisions, which were announced last Thursday, will impact four teams (men’s and women’s) across the region: the University of Rhode Island and UMass Amherst. They’ll now be part of a Northeast cluster for conference games, one that includes Fordham, La Salle and Saint Joseph’s – all drivable games that don’t require flights or an overnight trip.