Allyson Swaby in action during a Serie A match between Juventus Women AS Roma. (Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images)
Allyson Swaby (West Hartford, Conn.) and her AS Roma teammates were reluctant to take a break when Italy’s Serie A announced a shutdown because of COVID-19’s spread. They had compiled a five-match winning streak across all competitions and were contending for a UEFA Women’s Champions League spot when things were halted.
But Swaby, a former Boston College and Connecticut FC defender, returned stateside last week with games scheduled to resume in May. As of publishing Thursday night, Italy had surpassed 3,400 deaths caused by COVID-19 to vault past China as the country hit hardest by the virus.
Italy has imposed especially harsh limitations as COVID-19 has spread, shutting down borders and imposing severe social distancing measures.
