Women’s soccer played two games in high humidity and heat over the weekend, but if a group of a college soccer coaches have their way that could be a thing of the past.

A contingent of men’s soccer coaches is pushing to introduce a split-season plan. The proposal calls for a 13-game fall season followed with an eight-game spring season before the conference tournament. The proposal is being introduced on behalf of men’s soccer, but women’s soccer head coach John Ross said it would be a boon for the women’s squad.

“I think it has to happen,” Ross said. “We’re talking about the athletes’ wellbeing, playing in two games a week. It’s dangerous with the amount of condensed games in a short amount of time.”

Women’s soccer averages two games a week with a few exceptions: a pair of non-conference home games against Nebraska-Omaha Sept. 5 and Wisconsin-Green Bay Sept. 18. After the match with Wisconsin-Green Bay, the Huskies enter into a tough conference schedule during which they play two games every weekend before concluding the season with a mid-week match at Western Michigan Oct. 30.

Factoring travel days into this schedule leaves little time for practices and rest days, which can add to recovery time in a sport which sees frequent injuries.

Senior Maggie Renfro is supportive of the proposed split schedule and hopes it catches on for women’s soccer.

“I think a lot of the girls are really worn out from the intense preseason that we had, and we haven’t really had a day off,” Renfro said. “So I think definitely if they did the split schedule it would probably and hopefully reduce some of the injuries so we can keep a full squad the whole time and be able to have everyone healthy and everyone ready to play.”

The proposed schedule would have effects beyond increased recovery times between games. It would allow players to have more time for schoolwork and less missed classes.

During last weekend’s games, women’s soccer was left shorthanded in the weekend finale as players were sidelined and limited due to heat-related problems. Under a split-schedule season, those games would be played later into summer or there would be a one-game affair.

“… The girls would be able to play in better conditions, especially in the spring when we’re waiting for the snow to melt because we had a few beautiful games that the weather was like there was no humidity and it was fun,” Renfro said. “It was more fun than the heat this weekend.”

There’d be also another added benefit for women’s soccer: a more cohesive team.

“… Because like preseason you don’t get to work together, but you get as much time to really form as a team,” junior Nicole Gobbo said. “And if you get to work together for that much longer, it’d be very beneficial. You’d have [a] senior there [for] a second semester and you could build as a team in the whole year and work a lot over the winter and get better from the fall season.”

The proposal isn’t going to be a reality until at least the 2016-2017 season, as it will have to go through two NCAA conventions before being voted on and implemented in the season following a successful vote.