Worcester, Mass. – Nick Johnson (Amherst, Mass.) erupted for four goals and four assists and host Clark University opened up New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action with an impressive 11-6 win over Wheaton College in the first annual Renny Classic at a rainy Granger Turf Field on Saturday night.

Dubbed the Renny Classic in honor of Renny Merritt, the father of Clark student-athlete Whit Merritt who is suffering from Alzheimer's, all proceeds from tonight's event and online pledges – more than $1,500 – will go to the Worcester branch of the National Alzheimer's Association.

The win for the Cougars sends their overall record to 8-1, tying the school record for wins in a single season – a feat they have reached in each of the last two years. It also avenges an 11-10 loss to the Lyons a season ago and marks the fourth straight season in which the two teams have alternated victories.

For Wheaton, meanwhile, the loss drops their record to below the .500 level at 4-5 and they have now dropped back-to-back games after winning two straight.

The game was tied at 1-1 with more than ten minutes gone by in the opening period as Andrew Myhre (Middlebury, Vt.) scored a man-up goal with help from Johnson and the Lyons countered with a Scott Whear (Duxbury, Mass.) strike off of a Will Morrison feed (Osterville, Mass.).

Clark then surged ahead, scoring three straight goals as the first quarter ended and the second began. First, Johnson scored an unassisted marker and then he found Rob Holden (East Longmeadow, Mass.) for his first of the night less than 20 seconds later.

The lead ballooned to 4-1 in the early stages of the second quarter when Myhre setup Isaac Bass (Amherst, Mass.) for his 17th goal of the year.

That would be all the scoring Clark would do for the second stanza and Wheaton crept closer, getting an unassisted tally from Ryan Gjerset (Austin, Texas) and then Kyle Rumberger (Hyannis, Mass.) found a cutting Whear for his second goal of the evening.

After Johnson put the Cougars ahead, 5-3 with an unassisted score, Wheaton finally caught the Cougars, as Griffin Phaneuf (Manchester, N.H.) and Matt Morgan (York, Maine) found the back of the cage, knotting the score with a little less than ten minutes to go in the third.

Clark responded scoring the final two goals of the quarter – both coming from Jack Goracy (West Islip, N.Y.). He put the Scarlet and White back ahead with help from Bass and then with time winding down in the quarter Johnson found a cutting Goracy on the doorstep with three seconds left to give the Cougars a two-goal cushion.

Phaneuf inched the Lyons closer in the fourth when his shot looked to be stopped by Drew Riopelle-Tyrrell (Northville, Mich.) with a stick save but the ball took a funny bounce and got away from the Clark netminder and it rolled over the goal line.

The Cougars got that goal back moments later when Will Mandracchia (Melrose, Mass.) forced a turnover, and Johnson scooped up the groundball and scored.

That goal kickstarted a game-ending four goal spurt that saw Bass score on a man-up strike from Johnson, Johnson score again and Holden put the finishing touches on the victory with his 95th career goal.

Wheaton held a 36-31 edge in shots and won 11 of 20 faceoffs while going 14-for-14 on clears. Clark, meanwhile, led 28-23 in groundballs and went 2-for-5 on man-up situations.

Ryan Clair (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) was excellent in between the pipes for the Lyons, turning aside 13 shots, while Riopelle-Tyrrell was just as brilliant for the Cougars, stopping 15 and grabbing four groundballs.

In addition to Johnson's huge night, Bass, Goracy and Holden all had two strikes for Clark, while Whear and Phaneuf each had two goals for Wheaton.

Both teams are back in action next Saturday with NEWMAC contests. Wheaton hosts Emerson, while Clark travels to Coast Guard for the first time ever.