Leslie Gaston

Club After finishing her college career, Gaston was selected as the second pick of the second round of the 2003 WUSA Draft (tenth overall) by the Atlanta Beat. She made her debut for Atlanta on April 5, 2003, against the New York Power, assisting Kylie Bivens's opening goal of a 5–0 win. Gaston made 18 regular season appearances during the 2003 season, with the team finishing second and qualifying for the playoffs. In the semifinal against the San Diego Spirit, she assisted Charmaine Hooper's winning golden goal four minutes into extra time to advance to the 2003 WUSA Founders Cup. She started in the Founders Cup against the Washington Freedom, earning a penalty at the end of the first half, which Charmaine Hooper converted to equalize the score at 1–1. Gaston was substituted out before the start of extra time, with Atlanta going on to lose six minutes later to a golden goal by Abby Wambach.

Gaston played for the Atlanta Silverbacks in the USL W-League from 2005 to 2006. She was named the defensive player of the year for the 2006 W-League season, and was included on the All W-League and All-Central Conference teams.

In July 2009, the newly founded Atlanta Beat in Women's Professional Soccer named Gaston as an assistant coach for the team's inaugural 2010 season. However, she ultimately did not serve on the team's coaching staff.

Personal life Gaston was born to Eddie and Sally Gaston in Montgomery, Alabama, where she grew up and attended Saint James School, graduating in June 1998. After the Women's United Soccer Association folded in 2003, she began working as a marketing coordinator for arts and entertainment at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She married her husband David Marcus in April 2009, working at the time at a graphic design firm. They resided in Atlanta until 2014, when they relocated with their 2 children to Carbondale, Colorado.

Gaston dealt with numerous injuries during her career, primarily on her knee, requiring sixteen surgeries. Her first knee surgery occurred in high school, while the remaining ten were in college. This included five surgeries to replace her anterior cruciate ligament. However, she continued to play soccer against the advice of doctors. Despite dealing with knee pain after finishing her career, she would later state: "if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change anything. I know that sounds strange. But all the injuries have shaped my character and life in a way that I never thought something as devastating as having five ACLs could. I know whatever obstacles I face, I can get through them." She also broke her right leg, broke her ankle twice, bruised her kidney, broke her collarbone, and had four concussions all before finishing high school.