BATON ROUGE — LSU junior midfielder Malorie Rutledge and freshman goalkeeper Mo Isom proved to be among the nation’s premier players at their respective positions this season, and the duo was honored with All-America selections by Soccer Buzz Magazine on Wednesday.
Rutledge picked up her third All-America honor of the postseason as she earned Third-Team All-America and First-Team All-Central Region honors from Soccer Buzz.
The Sharpsburg, Ga., native and reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Year has also been named a Second-Team All-American by Top Drawer Soccer, as well as a Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-Central Region player by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
Rutledge emerged as one of the more feared attacking players in all of women’s college soccer in 2008 as she finished the season with a team-leading and career high nine goals and 18 assists for 36 points. Her 18 assists on the year ranks No. 2 all-time for a single season in the SEC, while she finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NCAA with an average of 0.90 assists per game.
Rutledge becomes the first LSU soccer player in program history to earn full All-America honors from Soccer Buzz Magazine since the release of its first All-America team in 1997.
Isom was just as impressive on the defensive end for the Tigers as Soccer Buzz has named her a Third-Team Freshman All-American and a member of the Central Region All-Freshman Team in her rookie season, in addition to her SEC All-Freshman Team selection in November.
Isom, a native of Marietta, Ga., made her mark on the SEC this season as she finished the season with the second-lowest goals against average in the league at 0.83, while her seven shutouts tied for the top spot. In addition, she ranked second among goalkeepers in the SEC with three shutouts and third with a 0.88 goals against average in league play.
Rutledge and Isom were not the only Tigers to be honored by Soccer Buzz on Wednesday as both junior Melissa Clarke and junior Rachel Yepez received all-region honors by the publication.
Clarke, who has already been named a Second-Team All-SEC performer and Second-Team All-Central Region selection by the NSCAA this season, earned her first career all-region honor from Soccer Buzz with a second-team nod.
After earning Soccer Buzz Second-Team All-Central Region honors a year ago as LSU’s leading scorer, Yepez has been named a third-team all-region selection for her performance in 2008. The Fayetteville, N.C., native also boasts a third-team all-region selection by the NSCAA in 2007.