BATON ROUGE — After scoring a pair of goals in LSU’s 3-1 win over Arkansas on Friday night, junior midfielder Melissa Clarke was honored by Top Drawer Soccer on Monday as a member of the organization’s Women’s College Team of the Week.
Clarke scored two goals in a 38-second span in the second half, including the game-winning goal in 59th minute, to help the Tigers clinch their second-straight SEC Western Division title.
The Norcross, Ga., native ended a drought of nearly one month without scoring a goal as she had not found the back of the net since a 2-1 win over the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens on Oct. 5. Clarke has now scored six goals and four assists for 16 points on the season, including four goals and four assists for 12 points in SEC play, as she makes a strong push for all-conference honors.
This marks the second time this season that an LSU student-athlete has been named a member of the Top Drawer Soccer Women’s College Team of the Week after fellow junior Malorie Rutledge also received the honor for the first time in her collegiate career back on Oct. 15.
Rutledge was also named to the Soccer America Women’s National team of the Week on Oct. 15, while she has also been named to the Soccer Buzz National Elite Team of the Week twice.
Clarke and the rest of the LSU soccer team will open postseason play on Wednesday as they play as the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala., from No. 5-9. The Tigers will take on No. 7 seed Ole Miss in the opening match on Wednesday at noon CT as they look to strengthen their case for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Top Drawer Soccer Women’s College Team of the Week
GK, Lauren Robertson, Ohio State
D, Emily Zurrer, Illinois
D, Erin Hardy, UCLA
D, Greer Barnes, West Virginia
M, Hailey Beam, Charlotte
M, Amy Smerdzinski, West Virginia
M, Melissa Clarke, LSU
F, Sanna Talonen, Florida State
F, Claire Zimmeck, William & Mary
F, Carrie Patterson, Georgia
F, Jen Mello, San Diego