As Marquette women’s soccer lost 10 seniors to graduation last season, while retaining Molly Keiper and Aislinn Boyle as graduate students; sophomore forward Jocelyn Leigh has made an immediate impact for Marquette since transferring from Loyola Chicago.
Leigh leads the Golden Eagles this season with six goals, including two via penalty kicks. She also earned a spot on the Big East’s Weekly Honor Roll at the end of September. Prior to attending college, Leigh was named to the United Soccer Coaches’ High School All-American list in 2024.
Leigh competed with the Ramblers for one season before entering the transfer portal. She tallied two goals and an assist while appearing in 18 matches with four starts during her time with the Ramblers.
Head coach Chris Allen said that Leigh provides a spark to the team through her ability and attitude.
“When she sees a little bit of green grass in front of her, there’s not many players in the country that are going to stay with her and catch her; I’m really proud of her grit and tenacity,” Allen said.
The Evanston, Illinois native, emphasized composure and a positive mindset through finishing in big moments, such as a penalty kick attempt that could provide a jolt of momentum towards the team. Such was the case in the Golden Eagles’ fourth game of the season against then-ranked No. 21 Wisconsin, where Leigh was called upon to tie the game through a penalty kick opportunity. It helped spark Marquette, but Wisconsin added the game’s final goal in the second half.
During those pressure situations, Leigh said that an encouraging and tranquil approach helps her focus and execute as she steps into a leadership role.
“I try to stay as calm as I can, and I think because it’s just me and the goalie, just a 1-on-1,” Leigh said. “I go up to it saying, like ‘I’m going to score, this is going to be a goal’ and I repeat that over and over to myself, willing it into existence.” Another mantra that she said helps her buckle down in those momentum-flipping situations is remaining focused on the task at hand, but also being mindful of their potential impact.
“I try to tell myself like, ‘I’ve got to pay the price here to win,’” Leigh said.
After Marquette’s win against DePaul, in which she tallied a penalty kick goal and an assist, Allen said that the assist to junior forward Emily Fix exemplified her grit after Leigh went down the pitch and found the perfect moment to dish it out to her.
“I thought it was an awesome mentality by Jocelyn, that when she’s getting her shirt grabbed, not to stop, but just to keep going and playing through it, then Fix was running with her,” Allen said. “Jocelyn is one of the most unselfish people you’ll ever meet for a goal scorer, and most goal scorers keep that on their foot, but because she saw the right pass, she made it, and it was fantastic.”
First-year Coco Dorfman, who also came to Marquette by way of the transfer portal this past offseason after redshirting at Pittsburgh, said that Leigh illustrates the word ‘uncompromising;’ a common term amongst the team, which means not relinquishing one’s personality in the face of pressure.
“We use the word ‘uncompromising’ a lot in our program, but I think she demonstrates that really well, both on and off the field,” Dorfman said. “She’s uncompromising of her values and her friend tips; she’s really loyal and one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met.”
As Marquette gears up for further Big East play and having already matched last year’s win total (6); Leigh said that she is excited for the adventure ahead and the challenge of the journey.
“As a team, we say there’s always more in the tank,” Leigh said. “We keep trying to raise the level.”
This article was written by Mikey Severson. He can be reached at michael.severson@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @MikeySeversonMU.