BATON ROUGE — For displaying outstanding leadership in the community, LSU junior forward Rachel Yepez has been named one of 11 members of the 2008 Southeastern Conference Soccer Community Service Team as announced by the league office.
Yepez is one of 11 student-athletes named to this year’s team, which has a representative from all schools in the conference except Alabama.
A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Yepez has been named to the SEC Community Service Team for the first time in her career. She has served on LSU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for the past year, while also participating in a number of community service projects in Baton Rouge.
Among the projects in which Yepez has participated include Operation Take Back: Fight Against Crime in Baton Rouge, the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Strides and Rides event to help raise money in the fight against the disease and the United Way’s Day of Caring where she was a volunteer at a BREC dance party for senior citizens.
Yepez has also taken part in many projects on the LSU campus, including the university’s annual Halloween BOOzar and its annual Christmas Toy Drive. In addition, she is a frequent visitor to Southside Baptist Preschool and Desire Street Academy where she helps tutor and read to kids.
Yepez has been a catalyst in LSU’s rise to national prominence during her collegiate career as she has helped lead the team to back-to-back SEC Western Division titles the last two years.
She is currently tied for the team lead with eight goals this season while she is the second-leading point scorer on the squad with 22 points on the year. Her performance is a key factor in the Tigers posting a 14-3-2 overall record and 7-3-1 mark in SEC play this fall as the team is on the verge of earning its second-straight at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament with bids going out tonight.
Yepez’s 27 career goals ranks third all-time at LSU, while her 66 points is fourth in the history of the LSU soccer program. She ranks in the Top 10 all-time in 10 offensive categories at LSU.
2008 SEC Soccer Community Service Team
Jackie Booker, Goalkeeper, Arkansas
Allison Whitworth, Goalkeeper, Auburn
Jenny Taylor, Forward/Midfielder, Florida
Courtney Cripps, Goalkeeper, Georgia
Cassie Phillips, Midfielder/Forward, Kentucky
Rachel Yepez, Forward, LSU
Jennifer Hance, Midfielder, Ole Miss
Anna Goblirsch, Midfielder, Mississippi State
Lindsay Small, Midfielder, South Carolina
Molly Baird, Goalkeeper, Tennessee
Taylor Ryer, Midfielder, Vanderbilt