CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When the NCAA ended all spring sports due to the threat of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, it left the Queens Women’s Lacrosse team (5-0 and ranked #2 in Division II) to wonder what might have been.

“I mean there were tears for sure,” Royals Head Coach Clare Short said. “ I think it was going to be just such an exciting year for everyone. It was just anger, sadness, but total understanding.”

However, Short thinks the premature end to the season could serve as added motivation for her players who reached the Final Four of NCAA Division II last spring.

“I think with this season being stripped away from us unexpectedly and out of our control, our girls are going to definitely have a chip on their shoulder,” Short told us. However, she added other teams will too. “The entire nation of Division II is going to as well.”

The end to the season has left Short with no games to prepare for and a lot of time on her hands.

“I jokingly said to my husband that I don’t think I’ve had an open spring in probably 12 years,” Short laughed. “Thankfully I do have a six-month-old baby, so she’s definitely a really good distraction right now.”

We could all use a good distraction.