BATON ROUGE ? Junior Malorie Rutledge scored her first career hat trick and junior Michelle Makasini scored two goals of her own to lead the 19th-ranked LSU soccer team to a dominating 7-0 shutout of Alabama on Sunday afternoon at the LSU Soccer Complex.
Sunday’s win marked the largest margin of victory for the Tigers in an SEC game in team history, while it was also their third straight win over the Crimson Tide in the series.
With Ole Miss dropping a 2-1 decision at South Carolina, the Tigers (10-2-0, 4-2-0 SEC) are now in sole possession of first place in the SEC West with 12 points in league play, while Alabama (8-5-1, 3-3-0 SEC) finds itself three points back in a tie for second place with the Rebels.
“Obviously, we’re very excited by the way we played today,” said LSU head coach Brian Lee. “I feel like we’re starting to play better at the right time of the season. We were very clinical today in the attack, and I thought our movement off the ball was outstanding. We have some very good attacking players, and they were relentless going forward for the full 90 minutes.
“We were also able to bring in some fresh reserves that helped us keep momentum without really giving up anything in our attack. This was as good as we’ve been offensively all year long.”
The Tigers wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard when Rutledge scored her first goal of the match and fifth of the season just five minutes in. After slicing through the Alabama defense with a class 20-yard run, Rutledge beat a defender in the right side of the penalty area and ripped a shot inside the far post from roughly 12 yards out at the 4:58 mark.
She followed 20 minutes later with her second goal of the afternoon at the 24:30 mark of the first half, receiving a pass from junior Rachel Yepez on the left flank and bending a shot inside the far post from 15 yards out just inside the top of the box.
Rutledge completed the hat trick just 29 seconds into the second half when she fired a shot into an empty net from inside the six-yard box on a rebound from the initial shot by Melissa Clarke.
“Getting that first goal was the key to the game because that always seems to loosen us up and we play relaxed,” Rutledge said. “We were expecting good looks at the top of the box, and we had plenty throughout the game. Their back line kept dropping off inside the box, and I just made sure to keep running at them when I got the ball. It worked out pretty well for us.
“Brian always tells us how important it is not to take half chances with shots outside the box, and we were very good today about attacking their backs and getting some shots from close range.”
If scoring her first career hat trick and taking over the team lead with her seventh goal of the year were not enough, Rutledge tied her own single-season record for assists in the game with her 12th of the season on Makasini’s second goal of the afternoon in the 67th minute of play.
With LSU holding a commanding 5-0 lead, Rutledge slotted a precise through ball to Makasini in space behind the Alabama back line, and Makasini gained possession near the top of the area and cracked a shot from 12 yards out that found the back of the net. It was Makasini’s second goal of the match after giving the Tigers a 3-0 halftime lead with her first goal in the 29th minute of play.
Rutledge has certainly established herself as one of the more feared attackers in all of women’s college soccer with her play through 12 games this season. The Hermann Trophy candidate is the SEC’s leading scorer with seven goals and 12 assists for 26 points, including a league-leading six goals and five assists for 17 points in conference action.
While Rutledge and Makasini combined for five goals on the afternoon, Yepez and senior captain Roslyn Jones also scored goals to provide the final margin.
Yepez scored her sixth goal of the season unassisted in the 54th minute of play after controlling a loose ball in the left side of the area and finding the net from eight yards out with a shot just over the outstretched arms of a leaping Alabama goalkeeper. Jones tallied her fifth goal of the year two minutes from time with a shot from 12 yards out following a centering pass by Makasini.
Freshman goalkeeper Mo Isom was impenetrable on the afternoon as she made two saves to earn her first career shutout in SEC play and her fifth shutout of the season.
Sunday’s match was an offensive clinic as LSU put 15 shots on frame while attempting a total of 20 shots on the afternoon. The Tigers limited Alabama to just three shots and two shots on goal on the day, while finishing the match with a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
LSU did so in front of a record crowd for a Sunday afternoon match at the LSU Soccer Complex as 1,010 supporters turned out to see the Tigers in action, breaking the previous Sunday afternoon high of 935 supporters to see LSU take on Louisiana Tech on Sept. 2, 2007.
“It feels like we’re starting to find our groove a little bit,” Lee said. “We’ve found a little bit of a rhythm these last three games, and we’re looking forward to another great week of practice as we come back and get ready for two more tough games at home next weekend. We’re starting to play with some confidence, and that is going to be a key for us these last three weeks of SEC play.”
The Tigers have not tasted defeat at the LSU Soccer Complex in 16 matches, and they will put their school record home unbeaten streak on the line next weekend as they play host to Vanderbilt on Friday night at 7 p.m. followed by a home match against Kentucky on Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.