Senior midfielder Josh Wren kicked off his final season as a Pioneer by leading his team in both goals and game-winning goals, recording a total of six goals and two assists in the first half of the 2012 season.

“Going into his senior year, he’s been more open to coaching and realizes that it’s his last year,” said head coach Bobby Muuss. “I think he sees the light and says, ‘Okay, it’s my last year, I want to be as good as I possibly can,’ and he’s really proving that.”

As the team heads into the final matches of the season, they are looking towards Wren and other offensive players to continue scoring goals.

“We needed a goal scorer, and early in the season, [Josh] stepped up,” said Muuss. “We haven’t scored a lot of goals, but obviously a lot of weight is on his shoulders to try to put more in the back of the net in the next couple of weeks.”

Wren said he is taking that pressure in stride and uses it to his advantage to become the best he can.

“He’s done a lot of extra work. Josh has been committed to going out twice or three times a week extra to work on finishing, and even more now that we’re not finding the back of the net,” said Muuss. “It shows a lot of character in the young man and that he wants to win.”

Wren is used to motivating himself in that way and putting in that extra work when it comes to his love of soccer. He said he’s been doing it ever since he was able to stand.

“It wasn’t really something that I was ever pushed into,” said Wren. “I’m the first soccer player out of my family, and most of my support came from my closest group of friends. It just grew into something more, and the fact that it grew into this is just unbelievable.”

Looking back on his past four years here, Wren said that ultimately choosing DU was the right decision. As he looks to the future, he’s considering his next move.

Wren expressed an interest in a career in sports psychology, but is also considering post-collegiate soccer.

“It’s always a dream of a soccer player to go to college and play after,” said Wren. “Right now, I’m going game by game and trying to do the best for my team. As long as they do their job behind me, keeping the other team from scoring, then I have to do my job of scoring goals.”

Wren focuses on thinking about each game individually and making soccer his first priority. When the time comes for him to move on to bigger and better things, however, Muuss is confident in his abilities to score in life, just as he does in the game.

“Josh comes from a great family; he’s a great young man and a great student,” said Muuss. “He’s going to be successful for many years after DU, but we’re just happy he was a part of our family for four years.”