BATON ROUGE — Not only was LSU junior Malorie Rutledge named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for her outstanding play this weekend, but she has also garnered national attention by being named to three National Teams of the Week on Tuesday.
For her performance, Rutledge was named to the Soccer America Women’s National Team of the Week, the Soccer Buzz National Elite Team of the Week and the Top Drawer Soccer Women’s College Team of the Week for the first time in her collegiate career at LSU.
She is one of only four players nationwide to be named to all three teams, joining Laura Heyboer of Michigan State, Kristina Larsen of UCLA and Dani Collins of William & Mary.
In addition, Rutledge was also named the Most Valuable Player in the Southeastern Conference at the midway point of the season in an article published at ESPN.com on Tuesday.
Rutledge scored the game-winning goal in both of LSU’s conference wins over the weekend as it defeated Auburn in overtime by the score of 2-1 on Friday night and Alabama by a dominating 7-0 margin on Sunday afternoon at the LSU Soccer Complex.
Rutledge netted the game-winner just 24 seconds into the overtime period to lead the Tigers to the win over Auburn in a key SEC Western Division showdown. She then scored her first career hat trick with three goals against the Crimson Tide on Sunday that included the game-winner just five minutes following the opening kickoff to the match.
The Sharpsburg, Ga., native has now scored the game-winning goal for LSU in three straight SEC matches as she also tallied the winning goal in the Tigers’ 2-1 win over Georgia on Oct. 5.
In addition to scoring the game-winning goal against the Crimson Tide, Rutledge tied her own single-season assist record at LSU with her 12th on the year when she linked with junior Michelle Makasini in the 67th minute to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead late in the contest.
She becomes the first LSU soccer player to score seven points in a match in five years as former Tiger Rachel Cohen was the last to do so with three goals and one assist against Southern back on Nov. 2, 2003. With her effort, the Tigers now control their own destiny in the SEC West with five games remaining in the regular season as they are two points clear of Auburn in the standings.
The Hermann Trophy candidate is now the SEC’s leading scorer this season with seven goals and 12 assists for a career-high 26 points, while she also boasts a league-leading six goals and five assists for 17 points in conference action.
Soccer America Women’s National Team of the Week
F, Ashley Bares, Marquette
F, Laura Heyboer, Michigan State
F, Kristina Larsen, UCLA
F, Sophie Reiser, Columbia
M, Yolanda Odenyo, Oklahoma State
M, Lisa Redmond, Duke
M, Malorie Rutledge, LSU
D, Dani Collins, William & Mary
D, Krystle Kallman, Minnesota
D, Shelly Moeller, Navy
GK, Lindsay Parlee, Washington State
Soccer Buzz National Elite Team of the Week
F, Ashley Bares, Marquette
F, Laura Heyboer, Michigan State
F, Kristina Larsen, UCLA
F, Sophie Reiser, Columbia
F, Tiffani Turpin, UAB
M, Kelly Isleib, Utah
M, Nikki Keller, Colorado
M, Camille Levin, Stanford
M, Yolanda Odenyo, Oklahoma State
M, Malorie Rutledge, LSU
D, Dani Collins, William & Mary
D, Samantha Diaz-Matosas, South Carolina
D, Krystle Kallman, Minnesota
D, Andrea Willis, BYU
GK, Kaitlyn Revel, Fresno State
Top Drawer Soccer Women’s College Team of the Week
F, Laura Heyboer, Michigan State
F, Kristina Larsen, UCLA
F, Amy Rodriguez, Southern California
F, Kylee Rossi, Tennessee
F, Kristin Stannard, Stanford
M, Yael Averbuch, North Carolina
M, Kasey Langdon, Oklahoma State
M, Kelly Reinwald, Canisius
M, Malorie Rutledge, LSU
D, Dani Collins, William & Mary
GK, Kathryn Sutton, Bucknell