The trip had been planned for months: two weeks at a high-end resort, fully equipped with fields, a gym and pools, to accelerate preparations for the National Women’s Soccer League season starting in mid-April. No other NWSL team has gone to such extensive — and expensive — lengths.

“We’re in a bubble down here,” Coach Richie Burke said Saturday, two days after the team checked into the venue in Port St. Lucie, Fla. “It’s soccer paradise.”

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The health crisis, though, is impacting the NWSL’s plans, just as it led to the suspension of the MLS, NBA and NHL seasons, the delay to the start of the Major League Baseball campaign, and the end of countless other sporting events worldwide.

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The NWSL on Friday ordered all nine teams to cease formal activities and canceled all preseason matches. Washington was to play the University of Miami next weekend and face three college teams at Maryland SoccerPlex after it returned home.

On Sunday, the league extended the moratorium through next weekend. Owners and officials are expected to continue discussions Monday.

“We are hoping we still have our opener” April 18 at Audi Field against OL Reign (Seattle-Tacoma), Burke said. “We haven’t been told any different. We continue to move as if it’s business as usual.”

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Because of the league’s order, however, it’s not completely business as usual. Burke was not allowed to conduct training sessions over the weekend. While he golfed, the players organized activities on their own.

“We’re operating like offseason workouts,” said co-captain Tori Huster, who is president of the NWSL Players Association. “We’re taking advantage of the facility when and how we can but keeping our health in mind. We’re trying not to be around each other all the time.”

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The team is taking no chances. A player with an apparent sinus infection was isolated for 24 hours. Her condition and symptoms were shared with team doctors in Washington. Once it was clear she did not have the flu or the coronavirus, she was allowed to reintegrate with the group.

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“We have an emergency plan in place,” Burke said, “in case we do have an issue.”

Midfielder Rose Lavelle, the U.S. World Cup star, was supposed to report to camp this coming week following national team duty at the SheBelieves Cup and other commitments.

However, she was in contact with a sick family member (who is believed to have the flu), and out of an abundance of caution, Lavelle will not be allowed to join the Spirit for two weeks, Burke said.

U.S. national team midfielder Andi Sullivan was scheduled to join the team over the weekend. Goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe and defender Sam Staab are wrapping up their seasons on loan in Australia’s W-League. (Bledsoe’s team, Sydney FC, will play in the final next weekend.)

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The Florida resort is taking precautions, implementing “additional cleaning protocols and strict hygiene precautions,” according to the company’s website.

The Spirit delegation — 24 players and about 10 staff members — is staying in a separate housing block from other guests but uses the same restaurants and common areas.

“We wipe everything down. We stay hydrated,” Huster said. “It’s definitely a weird situation because you touch a handle every five seconds. It’s a little alarming having to worry about everything you are doing.”

To some extent, the NWSL is mirroring MLS’s response. The 26-team men’s league played two weekends of regular season matches before announcing Thursday that it would shut down for 30 days.

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It also barred formal practices through the weekend but allowed individual workouts. On Sunday, MLS extended the moratorium through this Friday.

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Huster said the players’ association is concerned about “player safety, first and foremost. Things are happening in real time, so the league is making decisions based on what they see MLS doing and what they think is best. They’re trying to get that information out as quickly as possible. Right now, we are gathering information from all angles.”

Despite the increase in reported infections last week and the subsequent response of the sports world, the Spirit decided not to cancel the trip.

“To be honest, we were in such a rush to get down here because we were worried if we didn’t get going, they were going to pull the plug,” Burke said.

Nonetheless, he added, the team understands the gravity of the situation.