All-American Malorie Rutledge Aspires to Lead LSU to an SEC Soccer Title
Having started all 64 games in her first three years at LSU, senior midfielder Malorie Rutledge found herself in an unusual position during the 2009 spring exhibition season ? the bench.
Poor performance, however, was not the culprit. Rutledge, a 2008 consensus All-American ? the program’s first ? was sidelined by offseason knee surgery required after a season of playing through serious pain. As her teammates played out the exhibition slate that included a monumental 3-0 win over the reigning Big 12 champion Oklahoma State Cowgirls, Rutledge could only sit and watch.
“It was brutal for me,” she said. “I would sit next to the coaches and they would just talk to me about the game or (LSU coach) Brian (Lee) would keep me updated if I couldn’t travel.”
Having just put together the most successful single-season performance in the program’s history made it even harder to stay off the field in the spring.
In the 2008 regular season, Rutledge dished out 18 assists, shattering the previous LSU record of 12 that she set in 2007. For the season, she averaged 0.90 assists per match, the nation’s best total. She also notched nine goals, bringing her point total to 36, good enough for first in the Southeastern Conference.
It was a season of firsts. Rutledge became LSU’s first consensus All-American, first SEC Offensive Player of the Year, and first two-time unanimous All-SEC first team selection.
As a team, the Tigers enjoyed similar unprecedented accomplishments. LSU claimed its first-ever back-to-back SEC West championships and finished second overall in the league, the program’s highest finish in history.
Three years ago, such accomplishments must have seemed impossible to most. However, despite finishing conference play in last place in 2003 and 2004 and eighth in 2005, LSU still managed to bring in an impressive recruiting class that contained seven of the Tigers’ eight current seniors. Those seven newcomers each started in over half the games their freshman year, ultimately finishing eighth.
The experience began to pay off as the Tigers claimed an SEC West championship in 2007 to go along with a fourth place conference finish. Last season brought a second division championship and the runner-up position in the conference.
Throughout it all, Rutledge and her teammates never doubted their hard work would pay off.
“I knew we’d get to that level and that was the reason a few of us committed here,” said Rutledge, a product of Sharpsburg, Ga. “A lot of us knew the girls coming in our freshman year and we knew Brian Lee from the region team. He’s a great coach. We knew sooner or later he’d completely change this program around and he’s done it in a short time and we’ve just been here to help.”
Rutledge said the improvement from season to season has increased each year as the team has gained experience.
“Our freshman year we would lose our games when it came to battling on the field,” she said. “Our sophomore year, we had a lot of ties. Last year we came off with a lot of wins, but we would lose every once and a while on late goals. We’re hoping this year we’ll just get it all sorted out because we’ve progressively gotten better at it all.”
The extended absence from soccer in the spring only served to strengthen her resolve to claim what she and her fellow seniors covet most ? an SEC championship.
“You don’t realize how much you love something until you can’t do it,” she said. “This is our fourth year together and we’ve been through everything, from freshman year ending in eighth to last year finishing second. This year, we all want to come out with an SEC Championship. That’s our main goal and that would be a great sendoff for us.”
Personal accolades loom as well. For this second straight season, Rutledge has been named to the watch list for the Hermann Trophy, the award given annually to the nation’s best soccer player. Despite the recognition, she remains focused on the team’s ultimate goal.
“It’s an awesome recognition and it’s a confidence boost, but it’s just a watch list,” she said. “The one thing I’m focusing on is our team as a whole.”
In order to dethrone the three-time defending champion Florida Gators, Rutledge is going to have to put up numbers similar to those of last year. That won’t be an easy task, however.
“This year is going to be tougher because opponents know what I like to do and know I want to face people up and take people one on one, but that’s going to help me grow as a player,” she said. “There’s a little bit of extra pressure but it’s a learning process and I have fun doing it.”