ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University swept the initial AstroTurf South Atlantic Conference Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week honors for the 2021 season, the league office announced Monday.

Senior attack Braden Elam was selected Offensive Player of the Week, while junior faceoff specialist Nathan Fraser was recognized as the Defensive Player of the Week after the Pioneers opened the 2021 season with a 14-5 victory at Alderson Broaddus on Saturday.

Elam led the Pioneers with three goals and two assists in the victory. The Maineville, Ohio native scored the first goal of the season for the Pioneers just under five minutes into the first quarter, then scored twice in the fourth quarte ras part of a 7-0 run that extended Tusculum's lead from 6-4 to 13-4. Elam also assisted on goals from Kale Lawrence in the first quarter and Nate Raymond in the third, the latter coming just before the buzzer to give the Pioneers an 8-4 edge.

Fraser won 14 faceoffs in 16 attempts and collected 14 ground balls for the Pioneers against Alderson Broaddus, helping Tusculum to a 35-11 ground ball advantage in the match. The Kamloops, British Columbia product was 9-for-10 on faceoffs in the first half and 5-for-6 in the second half, while his 14 ground balls were the third-most in a single game in program history. Thirteen of Fraser's 14 ground balls came after faceoff wins as the Pioneers went 20-for-22 as a team in the match.

The Pioneers (1-0) will return to action Sunday, Feb. 14 at Chowan for a 2 p.m. start.