BATON ROUGE — LSU junior midfielder Malorie Rutledge is sure to receive her fair share of recognition as organizations release their postseason awards in the coming weeks, and she earned her first all-America selection of the 2008 season from TopDrawerSoccer.com on Thursday.
Rutledge was named a Second-Team All-American as TopDrawerSoccer.com released its annual Team of the Season on Thursday afternoon.
A native of Sharpsburg, Ga., who earned Honorable Mention All-America recognition from the organization last season, Rutledge has been the catalyst to LSU winning its second SEC West title in a row and earning an NCAA Tournament berth for the second-straight season.
She has also earned First-Team All-SEC honors and was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year this season after finishing as the top point scorer in the Southeastern Conference. She enters the postseason with eight goals and a total of 18 assists for 34 points to lead all scorers in the SEC that includes an impressive seven goals with 10 assists for 24 points in league play.
By scoring eight goals and breaking her own LSU single-season record with 18 assists on the year, Rutledge has accounted for 55 percent of the Tigers’ goals during the 2008 campaign (26 of 47). She either scored or assisted the game-winning goal in each of LSU’s seven wins in the SEC.
Rutledge has proven to be one of the top scoring threats in the country this fall as she ranks No. 1 in the NCAA with an average of 0.95 assists per game and is currently No. 2 in total assists with 18 through games played on Nov. 9. She also ranks among the Top 20 players nationwide with an average of 1.79 points per game to tie for the No. 18 spot.
Rutledge and the rest of the LSU Tigers will square off against Washington in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Season
First Team
GK, Alyssa Naeher, Penn State
D, Carrie Dew, Notre Dame
D, Kasey Moore, Texas
D, Nikki Krzysik, Virginia
D, Marissa Abegg, Stanford
M, Yael Averbuch, North Carolina
M, Carolyn Blank, West Virginia
M, Brittany Bock, Notre Dame
M, Yolanda Odenyo, Oklahoma State
F, Casey Nogueira, North Carolina
F, Tobin Heath, North Carolina
F, Kerri Hanks, Notre Dame
Player of the Season: Casey Nogueira, North Carolina
Second Team
GK, Jaimel Johnson, Tennessee
D, Jessie Davis, Penn State
D, Erin Hardy, UCLA
D, Greer Barnes, West Virginia
D, Janessa Currier, USC
M, Malorie Rutledge, LSU
M, Christina DiMartino, UCLA
M, Corky Julien, James Madison
F, Christen Press, Stanford
F, Kelley O’Hara, Stanford
F, Sanna Talonen, Florida State
F, Sophie Schmidt, Portland
Third Team
GK, Dianna Pfenninger, Texas
D, Abby Lauer, William & Mary
D, Emily Zurrer, Illinois
D, Stephanie Logterman, Texas
D, Lauren Hyde, Florida
M, Hailey Beam, Charlotte
M, Sinead Farrelly, Virginia
M, Megan Rapinoe, Portland
F, Amy Rodriguez, USC
F, Lauren Chaney, UCLA
F, KayAnne Gummersall, Duke
F, Deanna Everett, West Virginia