LSU enters SEC Tournament as No. 2 seed

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By Stephanie Kraft

The 16th-ranked Tigers defeated Arkansas (8-7-4, 2-7-2 SEC), 4-1, to clinch their third-straight SEC West championship last Friday night in Fayetteville.

With the win the Tigers (12-4-3, 8-2-1 SEC) secured the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament for the second year in a row after finishing the year with a school record eight wins and 25 points in SEC play.

Florida earned the first place seed with 26 points. South Carolina sits in third with 22 points.

Less than 12 minutes in, Arkansas Senior Sophie Wentz's header off a corner kick gave Arkansas a 1-0 lead.

As Razborback head coach Erin Aubry correctly stated "That goal unleashed the monster in LSU." Aubry and the Razorbacks watched as the Tigers launched a relentless offensive assault to take a 3-1 lead into the halftime break.

Sophomore Taryne Boudreau tied the game in the 22nd minute of play off of a set-piece free kick. Senior Malorie Rutledge took the free kick from 19 yards out, and slotted a perfect through ball to Boudreau, who released from the end of the wall and buried a wide open shot one-on-one with the keeper from six yards out.

Boudreau now has five goals, four coming in SEC play and is now LSU's second leading goal scorer in league action this fall.

Eight minutes later Rutledge gave LSU a 2-1 lead as she scored her ninth goal of the season. Senior Amanda Carreno received a throw in from fellow senior Rachel Yepez beyond the left side of the penalty area and promptly fired a beautiful left-footed cross to Rutledge standing on the far post. Rutledge one-touched the shot into the back of the net.

Carreno and Rutledge combined again in the half. Rutledge found Carreno far post with a cross into the box from the left side of the area. Carreno fired a header into the back of the net for her first goal of the season to give LSU a 3-1 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the first half.

"I'm pleased with the way we responded after giving up a goal early on," head coach Brian Lee said. "We were outstanding in the attack tonight passing and moving and putting ourselves in position to score goals. We're beginning to get our depth back as Rachel Yepez was able to play 30 good minutes for us without showing any signs of injury, and Amanda Carreno is starting to play well for us off the bench."

The Tigers assault continued into the second half as sophomore Kellie Murphy gave LSU its final 4-1 advantage with her second goal of the season on a header from eight yards in front of the net.

Rutledge, posting three assists for the game, found Murphy's head with a cross under pressure at the 57:16 mark. Rutledge continues to be brilliant ranking among the SEC leaders with five goals and nine assists in league play.

Rutledge has certainly shown the form that earned her Consensus All-America and SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors a year ago and is once again LSU's leading scorer with nine goals and 11 assists on the year.

"The pressure was on us to perform tonight because we knew if we didn't that we probably wouldn't win the SEC West," Rutledge said. "That was our main focus tonight, coming out and getting a win."

"Amanda Carreno and Rachel Yepez came in and gave us a spark, and that was exciting to see. We didn't seem to miss a beat when they came into the game. We're definitely excited about the win."

LSU dominated play outshooting Arkansas by a 19-5 count in total shots with a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Razorbacks attempted six corner kicks in the match to five for LSU.

The Tigers will play as the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament beginning Wednesday at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Ala., and will take on No. 7 seed Vanderbilt(11-7-1 overall, 5-6 SEC) in the first round with the match scheduled to kick off at noon CT. LSU defeated Vanderbilt earlier this season 2-1 in overtime.

Originally Published: Issue 822 - November 4, 2009

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