BATON ROUGE — After wrapping up its most successful season in program history, the LSU soccer team led the way with seven selections to the 2007 Louisiana Sports Writers Association All-Louisiana Women’s Soccer Team released Sunday by the LSWA.
The Tigers were honored by the LSWA with the most representatives of any team in the state with five first-team selections and two honorable mention selections.
Sophomores Michelle Makasini, Chelsea Potts and Malorie Rutledge earned first-team honors for the second straight season, while both sophomore striker Rachel Yepez and freshman midfielder Taryne Boudreau were awarded first-team honors for the first time in their LSU careers.
In addition to LSU’s five first-team selections, senior Valerie Vogler and junior Roslyn Jones capitalized on outstanding seasons by receiving honorable mention accolades.
Makasini, who was named the Louisiana Player and Freshman of the Year a season ago, was LSU’s leading vote-getter after scoring nine goals and recording three assists en route to being named a Top Drawer Soccer Honorable Mention All-American and first-team All-SEC selection for the first time in her illustrious career.
Like Makasini, Rutledge earned honorable mention All-America honors from Top Drawer Soccer as well as first-team All-SEC recognition, while Yepez was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer All-America team as an honorable mention selection.
Yepez finished the season as LSU’s most prolific scorer since Artie Brown in 2004 with 14 goals, three assists and 31 points on the year. Rutledge also enjoyed a successful season on the offensive end by setting LSU’s single-season assist record with 12 on the year.
Both Potts and Boudreau have also earned all-conference accolades this fall with Potts being named a second-team All-SEC performer as one of the league’s premier defenders and Boudreau being named to the SEC All-Freshman Team following an outstanding rookie season at LSU.
Head coach Brian Lee was also named the Louisiana Coach of the Year for his work in guiding the Tigers to their most successful season in the 13-year history of the program.
Under Lee’s direction, the Tigers won their first SEC Western Division championship in school history en route to their first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. LSU defeated Samford, 1-0, in a first-round match on Nov. 16 before falling to Florida State in the second round on Nov. 18. The Seminoles will play Southern California for the national championship this afternoon at 1 p.m.
Kamryn Koch of McNeese State is this year’s Louisiana Player of the Year, while Alana Clark of McNeese State and Caitlin Smith of LSU-Shreveport have been named the state’s Co-Freshmen of the year. Kristin McDonald of Southeastern Louisiana is the Louisiana Newcomer of the Year.
The 2007 LSWA All-Louisiana Women’s Soccer Team was nominated and selected by the state’s sports information directors.
2007 LSWA All-Louisiana Women’s Soccer Team
Player of the Year
Kamryn Koch, McNeese State
Co-Freshmen of the Year
Alana Clark, McNeese State
Caitlin Smith, LSU-Shreveport
Newcomer of the Year
Kristin McDonald, Southeastern Louisiana
Coach of the Year
Brian Lee, LSU
First Team
Obafemi Alao, Grambling
Taryne Boudreau, LSU
Erin Hebert, Northwestern State
Kamryn Koch, McNeese State
Michelle Makasini, LSU
Kristin McDonald, Southeastern Louisiana
Holly Moran, Southeastern Louisiana
Chelsea Potts, LSU
Malorie Rutledge, LSU
Julia Vaughan, LSU-Shreveport
Rachel Yepez, LSU
Honorable Mention
Ashley Baker, Grambling
Tiffany Bombard, UL-Monroe
Divinity Bradley, Southern
Kiva Gresham, Louisiana Tech
Ali Hilsher, Centenary
Rachel Hobson, UL-Monroe
Roslyn Jones, LSU
Shelby Money, McNeese State
Kayce Schultz, Northwestern State
Valerie Vogler, LSU