(MARQUETTE COMMUNICATIONS) – The Marquette University women’s soccer team (0-0-0, 0-0-0 BIG EAST) opens the 2026 campaign with a pair of matches this week under third-year head coach Chris Allen. The Golden Eagles travel to St. Thomas (Minn.) at 3 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Aug. 12, before heading to North Dakota State on Sunday, Aug. 16, at 1 p.m. CT.
MU Mixing Youth With Experience
Marquette returns 19 letterwinners and eight starters from last season’s roster, but plenty of minutes are available following the departure of the 2025 senior class. Seven of the 13 players who scored at least one goal last season return in 2026, led by 2025 All-BIG EAST Second Team selection Jocelyn Leigh. Megan Murray and Coco Dorfman also return after each finding the back of the net three times a season ago.
The coaching staff added 10 newcomers, including eight freshmen and two transfers to the roster for the 2026 campaign, and the group is expected to compete for playing time early and often. Sarah Sirdah, a transfer from Indiana, and freshmen Mia Hurd and Ava Jack Shaw all joined the program at the conclusion of the 2025 fall semester. Sirdah played in 35 games and made five starts during her tenure at Indiana. In 2025, Sirdah ranked third on the team in points.
Leigh Earns BIG EAST Recognition
Junior forward Jocelyn Leigh was selected to the 2026 Preseason All-BIG EAST Conference Team, the league announced Aug. 3. The honor comes after Leigh earned Second Team All-BIG EAST recognition following a standout sophomore campaign in 2025.
Leigh led the Golden Eagles with 15 points and seven goals last season, adding one assist and recording 12 shots on frame. Her seven goals tied for the eighth-most in the BIG EAST during the 2025 regular season, while her All-BIG EAST selection made her the first Golden Eagle since the 2022 campaign to earn all-conference honors.
Ready To Return To Action
Early in the 2025 season, Marquette saw center back Lilly Coats suffer a season-ending injury after starting three of the Golden Eagles’ first five matches. Kiley McMinn also missed the entire 2025 season due to injury. Both Coats and McMinn returned to the starting lineup in Marquette’s exhibition match against Illinois on Saturday, Aug. 8.
Happy To Assist
The Golden Eagles return their top two assist leaders from a season ago in junior forward Megan Murray and sophomore Coco Dorfman. Murray led the team with five assists in 2025 and finished second on the squad with 11 points, while Dorfman recorded four assists and scored her first career goal in the season finale against Seton Hall.
Murray, a member of the Philippines National Team, finished 10th in the BIG EAST in assists and ninth in assists per match.
MU Facing Familiar Opponents
The Golden Eagles have faced both of this week’s opening opponents, most recently earning a 4-1 decision over St. Thomas at South Field on Aug. 31, 2025. Marquette is 4-0-1 all-time against the Tommies and has won two straight in the series.
ST. THOMAS | 4-0-1
Sept. 12, ’21 W 3-0 Milwaukee
Sept. 8, ’22 W 2-1 Saint Paul, Minn.
Sept. 17, ’23 T 1-1 Milwaukee
Sept. 19, ’24 W 5-0 Milwaukee
Aug. 31, ’25 W 4-1 Saint Paul, Minn.
NDSU | 2-0-0
Sept. 17, ’21 W 1-0 (2OT) Milwaukee
Aug. 17, ’25 W 2-0 Milwaukee
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