A league’s leading scorer generally makes its first-team all-conference ballot.Florida forward Stacy Bishop and Georgia forward Carrie Patterson both made First Team All-Southeastern Conference in 2006 after tying for the league lead with 12 goals.But LSU junior forward Rachel Yepez didn’t even make Second-Team All-SEC in 2007 after leading the league with 14 goals.”I was initially shocked,” said junior midfielder Michelle Makasini, who made first team All-SEC in 2007. “She didn’t even make first or second team, and she made All-American with me and [junior midfielder] Mal [Rutledge], so it was kind of confusing.”Yepez said she didn’t hear the news on her own.”My dad was the one that told me about it,” she said. “It really wasn’t a big deal to me.”Yepez is building on her breakout year and is tied with Makasini for the team lead with five goals in 10 games this season.She is second on the team in both assists and total points with five and 15, respectively. Rutledge leads the team in both categories.”She’s scoring goals for us, so she’s a great teammate,” Makasini said jokingly.Yepez has been one of LSU’s top scorers since she arrived in Baton Rouge. She finished as the team’s third-leading goal scorer her freshman year with five goals in 20 games, 16 of which she started.Senior forward Roslyn Jones said Yepez is always in the “right spot when she needs to be.””We kind of read off of each other,” Jones said.LSU coach Brian Lee said Yepez’s work ethic is rare among college soccer players.”A lot of them see getting a   college scholarship as the goal,” Lee said. “Rachel thought it was just the start.”Yepez knew Lee before she visited LSU. The two met through the Region III Olympic Development team, but Lee said he didn’t recruit Yepez intensely while working with the Region III team.”We were kind of just getting to know her at those things,” Lee said. “Then we just followed the NCAA rules in terms of when you can start recruiting her, which isn’t much until they’re a junior.”Yepez was one of the last members of her class to commit to LSU. She originally committed to South Carolina after her junior year when she scored 48 goals and 120 points.”I initially wanted to stay close to home,” the Fayetteville, N.C., native, said. “After going to the camp, I realized it wasn’t a good fit for me.”Yepez visited several schools after decommitting from South Carolina, including Virginia Tech, Ohio State and N.C. State.Lee said Yepez called LSU after she changed her mind about South Carolina.The only way Yepez could have communicated with Lee was via phone because of NCAA rules.”Coming from Fayetteville, N.C., it’s a pretty long trip to get to Baton Rouge,” Lee said. “At that time it’s her junior year, and NCAA rules prohibit us from giving official visits, so it makes it tough to find a way to get there.”Yepez visited LSU her senior year after visiting other schools.”I visited LSU, and it just clicked,” she said.—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]