Marshall Leonard (born December 29, 1980 in
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
) is an American
soccer defender and
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, who last played for the
New England Revolution
The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...
of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
.
Leonard is
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
. He attended high school in
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it o ...
, earning varsity letters at both
Shaw High School and
Brookstone School. He went on to play
college soccer
College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and Philippines, the Philippines. Th ...
at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with College admission ...
from 1998 to 2001. Leonard played and started in a total of 89 games at UVA while scoring one goal and 8 assists.
Leonard was selected 45th overall in the
2002 MLS SuperDraft
The 2002 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 10, 2002 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
One month earlier, MLS had contracted two clubs: Tampa Bay Mutiny and Miami Fusion. In conjunction with the contraction, the league conducted bo ...
, and signed to a
developmental contract In Major League Soccer, in addition to the senior roster, each team can carry a developmental roster of a certain number of young players whose contracts do not count against the salary cap. The allowable size of developmental rosters has varied th ...
. After spending his first year entirely on the bench, Leonard came on strong at the end of 2003, appearing in ten games, including five starts. He developed into a consistent starter in 2004, and when
Joe Franchino went down with an injury, Leonard took his spot at left back; he finished the year with one assist in 22 starts. In 2005, while playing most of the year at the left wing spot, he scored a goal and an assist. He was waived by New England in 2007.
Following his retirement from soccer, Leonard graduated from the
Stony Brook School of Medicine
The Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) is the graduate medical school of Stony Brook University located in the hamlet of Stony Brook on Long Island, New York. Founded in 1971, RSOM is consistently ranked the top public medical school in New Y ...
in 2016. He later completed his residency in emergency medicine at
Stony Brook University Hospital
Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH), previously known as Stony Brook University Medical Center, is a nationally ranked, 695-bed non-profit, research, and academic medical center located in Stony Brook, New York, providing tertiary care for the ...
in 2019.
Honors
New England Revolution
*
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup
The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country.
The 2023 U.S. O ...
(1):
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Marshall
1980 births
Living people
American soccer players
Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer players
African-American men's soccer players
New England Revolution players
Soccer players from El Paso, Texas
Sportspeople from Columbus, Georgia
Major League Soccer players
United States men's youth international soccer players
New England Revolution draft picks
Association football defenders
Physicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
Soccer players from Georgia (U.S. state)
African-American physicians
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American people