As Josie Bieda sprinted past midfield during the first game of the season, she stuck out her right arm to call for the ball despite having a defender running alongside her. The pass came; she gathered the ball and took off dribbling towards the right side of the net. As she got closer to the cage, the Northern Illinois goalkeeper stepped out to limit Bieda’s options, but she took the shot anyway.
The decision to let it fly was the byproduct of a conversation the Marquette women’s soccer senior forward had with her head coach four months prior. The two were talking about what Bieda’s final season would look like after a big pair of shoes needed to be filled.
The top offensive asset in the program, Tess O’Connell, left after last season, and the team came out of that campaign with a -4.2-shot differential per game.
In their meeting, head coach Chris Allen was talking to Bieda about stepping into a greater offensive leadership role and getting her out of her comfort zone.
Allen describes Bieda as reserved, but unlike her, he didn’t want this chat to be quiet.
“She’s the type of kid, if you ask her how she’s doing, she says, ‘Fine,’” Allen said. “I told her, ‘I don’t want your soccer experience here to be fine. I want it to be amazing. I want it to be hard. I want it to be challenging. I want it to be rewarding. I want it to be transformational.‘”
In her junior season, Bieda netted three goals, averaging less than one shot per game. That and the fact she was out for the team’s entire five-game spring season with an injury — the cause of which the team didn’t want to disclose — she went into this season having something to prove.
“There’s a lot of pressure,” Bieda said. “Last year, one of our big goals was to make the Big East Tournament for our seniors, and we didn’t do that. I really had a hard time with that, and that really hurt me. Seeing them graduate without doing that was really eye-opening for me. So now, I’m in that position.”
During the summer, Bieda focused heavily on shooting and improving her fitness level. In practices before the season started, she clocked a 20-mile-per-hour max speed.
Going into this year, Allen wants to focus on moving their back line on defense further down the field. This lets Bieda rest more during the game and gives her the opportunity to score on fast breaks.
“She’s the fittest kid on the field for us,” Allen said.
“She’s healthier, she’s more explosive. It’s freaking crazy for a senior like that to keep growing and keep getting faster and more explosive. It’s just been a true testament to her character.”
Despite being a senior and statistically the top returning offensive player from last year, Bieda wasn’t selected as a captain for this season; something she admitted is difficult for her.
“I kind of can struggle to find my voice because I’m kind of a quieter person,” Bieda said. “I prefer to lead by example.”
In the team’s first three games of the 2025 season, Bieda is the highest volume shooter for the squad. She has attempted five shots, four of which were on goal.
“Bieda is the biggest lead-by-example player,” junior forward Emily Fix said. “You can always see her out-working everyone and showing up in every drill. That inspires a lot of the younger players and everyone else on the team to get into that level of intensity and intentionality in practice. Not just showing up, but actually making a difference.”
As far as Fix, her coaches, teammates and any opposing team are aware, Allen is one of the loudest voices on the field during a game. He’s familiar with what that can do for a team, but he’s also aware of the opposite’s effect.
“So much of our culture nowadays is the loudest, most vocal, or even at times, most talented kid is quote, unquote ‘the leader,‘” Allen said while talking about Bieda. “That’s not to say that there’s an incredible value in that, but a lot of those kids relate a whole lot better to the quiet type and the one that goes about her business, holding herself to the standard.”
One day, when the team was focusing on crosses, Bieda showed up early to practice — something she and some teammates consistently do — allowing her to focus on finishing during actual drills.
“She’s always going to be the hardest worker and the biggest fighter,” Fix said. “Knowing that’s what the team needs most and that’s the value that we’re trying to tap into the most. She’s really proven that.”
Marquette started its season 3-0, its best fall regular season start since 2012 — a season in which the Golden Eagles posted the third-best record in program history, won the Big East tournament and clinched a Sweet 16 berth.
Through their first three games, the Golden Eagles averaged 4.6 shots over their opponent per game and didn’t concede a goal.
“[Allen] has been saying that winning is a habit,” Bieda said. “And we’re starting to make that a habit.”
She began that quite early.
As the shot flew off Bieda’s right foot in the season-opener, the Northern Illinois goalkeeper dove, but the ball floated past her fingertips. The ball bounced off the ground and went straight into the left side of the net, putting Marquette in the lead. Bieda’s teammates chased her down and hugged her, jumping up and down.
It was only seven minutes into the match.
This story was written by Benjamin Hanson. He can be reached at benjamin.hanson@marquette.edu or on Twitter/X @benhansonMU.