#20 Marlena Cutura Season 2025
2016 LSWA Louisiana Freshman of the Year
2016 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll
SENIOR SEASON (2019)
Appeared in and started all 18 matches for LSU … was LSU’s leading scorer with two goals and four assists for a total of eight points on the season … notched the gamewinner against McNeese State via a penalty kick in the third minute of play … scored her second goal of the season via a penalty kick against Vanderbilt in the 43rd minute … had a team high four assists on the season … registered her second career multi-assist game on Sept. 1 against Samford with two assists … setup a game tying goal by Maddie Moreau in the 86th minute of play at Georgia … assisted on Rammie Noel’s first-career goal against Mississippi State … played a total of 1,379 minutes on the season … played the full 90 minutes against Auburn … took a team leading 28 shots on the season, 12 of which were on goal … season high six shots came against McNeese State … her two penalty kicks made this season were tied for the seventh most in a single season in school history … closed her career by playing in 77 matches and earned 67 starts … played a total of 5,814 minutes on the pitch for the Tigers during her four-year career … tallied a total of 23 points (5g & 13a) during her four-year career … LSU’s record when she scored or registered an assist was 11-1-4.
JUNIOR SEASON (2018)
Appeared in and started all 24 matches for the Tigers … registered career highs in goals (3), assists (5), points (11) and shots (42) … two of her three goals were game winners … her five assists were the second most on the team … her 11 points were the third most … scored the first goal of her career in the 31st minute from 25 yards out in LSU’s 1-0 win over South Alabama on Aug. 30 … scored a goal in the following game against Lamar with a right-footed shot from the 15 yards out that beat the Lamar keeper to the far post in the 25th minute … registered the first two assist game of her career on Sept. 6 against Stetson as she setup Abbey Newton for a goal off a corner kick and she sent in Molly Thompson into the right side of the box before the freshman finished it off … assisted Abbey Newton on another corner kick goal in LSU’s 2-0 win over Samford (Sept. 9) … registered a point in four straight matches from Aug. 30 to Sept. 9 … scored the first SEC goal of her career in LSU’s 2-1 victory over Missouri on Oct. 7 … assisted Abbey Newton on another corner kick goal on Oct. 11 against Ole Miss … assisted Shannon Cooke’s goal in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament that gave LSU a 1-0 lead … LSU was 6-0-1 when Cutura registered a point in 2018 … played 1,889 minutes on the pitch.
SOPHOMORE SEASON (2017)
A key member of LSU’s midfield unit throughout the 2017 season … Earned eight starts as a holding midfielder in her 18 appearances on the season … Six of her eight starts on the season came in SEC play against the likes of Georgia, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Auburn and Missouri … Assisted Lucy Parker’s opener in LSU’s 2-1 home win over Georgia on Oct. 5 to help hand the Tigers their first SEC win of the campaign … Attempted four shots with one shot on target in the offensive third over the course of the season … Earned her second varsity letter.
FRESHMAN SEASON (2016)
Started all 17 matches in which she played as a true freshman in 2016 … Played primarily as a defensive midfielder in her debut season … Also saw brief action at left back and center back as part of LSU’s defensive unit … The team’s corner kick specialist throughout the campaign … Credited with three assists from corner kicks over the course of the season … Assisted Delaney Sheehan’s game-winner from a corner kick in the 25th minute in a 1-0 win at College of Charleston on Aug. 21 to give the Tigers their first win of the season … Also assisted Sheehan’s winning goal from a corner kick in the sixth minute of a 1-0 road win at Western Kentucky on Sept. 8 … Found Zoe Higgins’ head from the corner flag late in LSU’s 3-0 home win over Ole Miss on Sept. 16 to cap the team’s first SEC win of the campaign … Attempted 14 shots with five shots on goal for a .357 SOG% on the year … Part of a defensive unit that posted a 1.51 goals against average in 2016 … Missed two starts against Tennessee and Georgia late in the season due to a hamstring injury … Honored by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association following the season as the LSWA Louisiana Freshman of the Year among all colleges and universities in the state for the 2016 season … Recognized for her academic performance with a selection to the SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll following the season … Earned her first varsity letter.
PRIOR TO LSU
Emerged as one of the top talents in the South while playing with the Region III Olympic Development Program Team in 2015-16 … Toured Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the Region III ODP Team in April 2016 … Played club soccer with the Slidell Lighting from 2009-15 under head coach Danny Clavier and Mandeville Lakers 98/99 Elite team in 2015-16 under head coach Aris Kyriakides … Played three seasons for her high school team at Pope John Paul II Catholic High School … Led her high school team to the state championship in 2014 … A two-time first-team all-state performer as a sophomore and junior … Three-time all-district performer and team Most Valuable Player during her high school career … Also named her district’s MVP during her junior season … Coached at the high school level by JB Mahoney and John Allen … Also one of the top volleyball players in the state of Louisiana during her high school career … Helped lead Pope John Paul II High School to back-to-back state championships on the volleyball court in 2014 and 2015 … A two-time first-team all-state volleyball player in 2014 and 2015 and the All-State Player of the Year following her junior season in 2015 … Also a three-time all-district and two-time all-metro performer on the volleyball court prior to her arrival at LSU.
PERSONAL
Full name is Marlena Ljubica Cutura … Born on Oct. 20, 1998 … Parents are Miroslav and Denise Cutura … Has four older siblings, Adriana, Andro, Christopher and Christina … Sister, Christina, plays college soccer at Southeastern Louisiana University … Brother, Andro, is a professional baseball player as a pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization … An honor student at Pope John Paul II Catholic High School with a 4.2 weighted grade-point average during her prep career … Plans to major in biology at LSU.