The Cavaliers’ women’s soccer team hosts Virginia Tech Saturday at 6 p.m. to mark the long-awaited return of UVa athletic competition. The lack of sports goes back to mid-March, when the pandemic swiftly ended the NCAA’s spring athletic season.

The Virginia baseball team hosted Field Trip Day on March 11 with hundreds of excited kids watching the action. The swimming and diving and men’s tennis teams also competed on that day.

During the baseball game, UVa announced that classes would transition online because of the pandemic. The next day, the ACC Tournament was canceled, ending the season for Tony Bennett’s men’s basketball team.

The cancellation of spring sports followed, sending student-athletes to their respective homes across the country, unsure when they’d come back to Charlottesville.

In early July, athletes began returning to Grounds, but uncertainty remained as conferences across the country canceled fall seasons.

“Personally, I don’t think I would have told you that this was ever gonna happen,” fifth-year senior soccer player Anna Sumpter said of playing a match this fall. “Two months ago, I think we were kind of in a phase where we were training, but we weren’t sure exactly what we were training for and it was all on our own. It’s been a really, really weird offseason. Everybody was kind of pessimistic about making it happen, but it’s been amazing to see kind of how all the staff and everybody involved has done everything in their power to make it happen.”