UMass, URI eye February games as Atlantic 10 Conference plans return

UMass forward Lauren Bonavita challenges for the ball. (Bill Barrett/Atlantic 10)

New England’s two Atlantic 10 Conference programs, the University of Rhode Island and the University of Massachusetts, could return to competition by mid-February at the latest.

Coaches from URI and UMass, who are part of the 14-member A-10, tell New England Soccer Journal that their teams will soon return to campus. That’ll jumpstart preseason preparations, as followed by non-conference games and then conference games with a four-team postseason tournament.

The NCAA previously approved Division I soccer teams playing between Feb. 3 and April 17 after the COVID-19 pandemic forced widespread fall-season postponements and cancellations. Further schedule adjustments are expected during the winter and spring, according to URI men’s head coach Gareth Elliott.