ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University junior midfielder AJ Hems has been named the AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending April 21, the SAC office announced Monday.
Hems scored the winning goal 11 seconds into double overtime as the Pioneers clinched the final spot in the SAC Championship tournament with an 11-10 victory over 16th-ranked Catawba in the season finale Saturday night at Brevard College. The win was the first-ever for Tusculum against a ranked opponent and locked up the sixth and final seed in the tournament field, while denying Catawba a share of the SAC regular-season championship.
A transfer from Roberts Wesleyan, Hems is fifth on the Pioneers with 13 goals this season, with at least one in eight of the Pioneers' 13 games.
Tusculum (7-6, 3-5 SAC) will visit third-seeded Queens University of Charlotte in a SAC quarterfinal match on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The winner will play second-seeded Catawba in the semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. at Wingate, with the championship match set for Sunday at 4 p.m.