BATON ROUGE — LSU midfielder Melissa Clarke was named the Southeastern Conference Soccer Freshman of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday.
Clarke led the Tigers to a 4-3 victory over Arkansas on Friday by scoring the game-winning goal and the first goal of her young career in the 74th minute of play. She also assisted on LSU’s first goal of the match to give her four assists and six points on the season.
The Norcross, Ga., native has lived up to her billing as a Soccer Buzz Top 50 Recruit as she has started in all 18 games she has played this season and leads the team with 37 total shots, including 10 shots on goal. She is currently second on the team in assists and tied for fourth in points scored.
Clarke becomes the third LSU soccer player to earn SEC Player of the Week recognition and first since sophomore goalkeeper Valerie Vogler was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week in October 2004.
By defeating Arkansas, the Tigers earned their first appearance in the SEC Tournament since 2002 as they face the top-seeded Tennessee Lady Volunteers in the first round on Thursday at 5 p.m. The tournament will be held at the Orange Beach Soccer Complex in Orange Beach, Ala.