BATON ROUGE ? LSU midfielder Malorie Rutledge followed a stellar freshman season by participating in the recent Olympic Development Program Under-19 National Training Camp held at Ventura College in Ventura, Calif., from Jan 3-6.
Rutledge competed at the training camp as a member of Region III representing the Southern region of the United States. The South team was one of four national region teams of 18 players forming a field of 72 of the nation’s top women’s soccer players 19-years-old and under.
“I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to compete against the very best soccer players this country has to offer in the U-19s, and I learned a lot about myself while I was at the camp,” Rutledge said. “It’s an experience that will help me grow as both a player and a person, and I hope that one day I’ll have the opportunity to represent my country on the national team.”
The Sharpsburg, Ga., native competed alongside her peers in each region for a roster spot on the ODP national team pool. She proved why she was considered one of the Top 75 recruits in the country in just her first season at LSU as she was named a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team by the league’s 12 head coaches in November.
Rutledge, who was a three-time member of the Region III ODP Team Pool as a youth, was one of just five Tigers to start all 20 matches in 2006 while playing primarily as an attacking midfielder. She scored the first of what is sure to be many goals in her career against 14th-ranked Texas on Sept. 13 and finished the season by scoring a pair of goals and eight points.