ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Malorie Rutledge’s game-winning goal with 22:26 to play was the only scoring LSU would need as the 13th-ranked and No. 2-seeded Tigers defeated No. 6-seeded Auburn by a 1-0 margin Friday and advance to their first ever SEC Tournament final.
With the win in Friday’s semifinal match, LSU (14-4-3) advances to Sunday’s championship contest and will take on either No. 1-seeded Florida or No. 4-seeded South Carolina at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
LSU also extends its unbeaten streak to four games against Auburn (10-8-3) and remains unbeaten against its division rival in SEC Tournament play with a 2-0-1 mark all-time in the postseason.
Rutledge showed the form that earned her a second-straight SEC Offensive Player of the Year honor with the game-winning goal in the 68th minute of play. After senior Rachel Yepez dribbled the ball into the box and raced to the end line, the ball was cleared out of the penalty area to a waiting Rutledge, who raced across the top of the box and fired a low strike from 20 yards and inside the bottom left corner of the goal.
Rutledge is now tied for the team lead with 10 goals and is the team leader with 32 points this fall as she’s sure to earn consensus All-America honors for the second year in a row.
"I was beating my defender end line all night, but this time Brian was telling me to go inside. So, I turned her inside and got a good shot off," Rutledge said. "I was just trying to get a good shot on goal from there since I was pretty open. Fortunately for us, it got past the keeper in the bottom corner."
Friday’s match proved to be a defensive struggle for much of the night as LSU sophomore goalkeeper Mo Isom recorded a season-best six saves against SEC competition. LSU outshot Auburn in the match with a narrow 14-12 advantage in total shots, while it was Auburn that held a 6-5 lead in shots on goal. The sides matched one another with a total of four corner kicks on the night. Perhaps Isom’s best save of the night came with just over 24 minutes to play when the ball was played by an Auburn midfielder over the LSU defense to forward Caitlin King running free down the right side. On the breakaway, Isom did not hesitate as she raced off her line and made a brilliant sliding save on the shot on goal by King and deflected the ball out of play for an Auburn corner kick. Isom pitched her 11th shutout of the season and her 18th clean sheet of her career as she is LSU’s program record holder for shutouts in a season and career. "I’m very proud of Mo for the way she played tonight. I thought she played her best game of the year for us," said LSU head coach Brian Lee. "She came up big with some outstanding saves tonight and was very good once again catching crosses and keeping the defense organized. That’s exactly what we needed."
The sides played to a scoreless draw in the first half as LSU held the possession advantage for the first 45 minutes of play. LSU outshot Auburn by a 7-6 count in total shots in the first half, including a 3-1 edge in shots on goal, while both teams attempted just two corner kicks in the period.
The Tigers earned a spot in the SEC Tournament final for the first time in program history after earning a spot in the semifinal round for the third year in a row.
"We’re certainly very excited to finally break through and make it to the final for the first time this year," Lee said. "Our kids earned it. Auburn played very well all game long, and that is exactly the kind of game we expected. It’s going to be a great challenge playing our third game in five days, but we’re pleased with our depth at this point in the season. We’ll come back Sunday and see if we can’t win a championship."