When junior Bryce Denker drove the ball into the back of the net for his second goal against El Darado in the soccer team’s last regular season game, he found himself in a place where not many athletes find themselves, the state record books. The goal was Denker’s 43 of the season, overtaking the previous record single season goals of 42 set by William Luke Ferguson.

“I knew I had to score two goals, and when I saw that second goal in, it was an awesome feeling,” Denker said. “I saw all of my teammates stand up, and I went over there to celebrate with them. It was just awesome.”

While Denker’s name is the only one that will be attached to the record, he said he hardly feels like he did it alone.

“Everybody thinks of it as an individual record, but I couldn’t have done any of it without my team. It was always a perfect pass or a perfect play that got me the goals,” Denker said. “Anybody in my position could have scored the goals. I just happened to be the right guy in the right position at the right time.”

Coach Jason Hay said he believes while Denker’s stats speak for themselves. He brought much more to the team than that.

“Bryce was one of the team’s leaders this season. His work ethic and attitude are the main reason he is so successful. He is a player who plays a full 80 minutes and refuses to lose,” Hay said. “There is no doubt he played a major role in our team’s success this year.”
While Denker didn’t understand the possibility he had of beating the record until the middle part of the season, he said the record had been on his mind since game one.

“Coach Hay talked to me before the season and told me he thought I had a shot,” Denker said. “I didn’t really realize I was going to actually be able to come close until it got about to the middle of the season.”

Coming off a record-breaking season, expectations are high for Denker next year, and he said there is definitely going to be some pressure.

“There is going to be a lot of pressure on me going into next season, I’ve got a lot of potential to live up and hopefully I can do just as good, if not better,” Denker said. “It is nice knowing that the record is mine though.”