SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Mercyhurst senior striker Thom Derks was a one-man wrecking crew against Shippensburg on Saturday, scoring all four the Lakers' goals on route to a 4-3 Mercyhurst road victory.
 
Derks entered the game with eight goals on the season, the highest among all Lakers and second most in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Today's performance solidified Derks' position as one of the top goal-scorers in the league.
 
It took nearly 37 minutes for a team to get on the board, and it was the home team, Shippensburg, who struck first. Patrick Luebben's header found the net after a cross from Joey Gallucci. The goal was Luebben's third of the season and it gave the Raiders the early advantage.
 
Mercyhurst went on to score four unanswered goals all courtesy of Derks. Shortly after the Raider's goal in the 40^th minute, Derks tied the game at one after collecting the loose ball in the box and burying it inside the right post.
 
In the second half, Conor Wilkinson set up Derks for the Laker's second goal to put them ahead. Once again, Derks placed his shot just inside the right post to give Mercyhurst a 2-1 lead in the 62^nd minute.
 
The Wilkinson-to-Derks combination struck again in the 71^st minute as Wilkinson set up Derks from about 25 yards out. Derks' blast from that distance doubled the Mercyhurst lead, putting the Lakers ahead 3-1.  
 
In the 76^th minute, Derks used his head to net his fourth goal of the game. Jesse Albers sent in a ball to Derks about five yards from the goal line and Derks made the header chance count. Mercyhurst looked to be well in control with a 4-1 lead with 14 minutes left to play.
 
Shippensburg did not go down without a fight, however, and the Raiders made things interesting with 10 minutes remaining. Jan Striewe scored his fifth goal of the season from five yards out off a throw-in from Colten Arnold to cut Merychurst's lead to 4-2.
 
Less than two minutes after his first goal of the game, Striewe struck again, this time from distance. Striewe tallied his second goal from about 30 yards out to pull the Raiders within one in the 82^nd minute.
 
The Raiders had a couple more opportunities to tie the game in the final eight minutes, including three corner kicks and two shots that went wide. Mercyhurst ultimately held on and came out with the 4-3 victory.
 
Derks' four-goal performance was a career high and he now has 12 goals in the 2016 season. Derks also matched his entire 2015 goal total (4) in this game alone. He sits behind only Gannon's Hamza Mourchid (15) for the PSAC lead in goals.
 
The win marked the Lakers' sixth straight win in conference and kept them in first place in the PSAC. Mercyhurst (8-3-1, 6-1-0) takes to the road once again for its next matchup, this time against California (Pa.) on Wednesday Oct. 12 at 6 p.m.