ROLLA, Mo. – Joe Ahearn, who led Missouri S&T's men's soccer program to its first NCAA Division II Tournament berth and a regular season championship in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, is stepping down as the head coach of the Miners to take an assistant coaching position at Northwestern University.

Over his six-season tenure as head coach at Missouri S&T, Ahearn led the Miners to a record of 49-44-13, which included a mark of 39-31-11 in GLVC contests.  The Miners finished at .500 or better in each of his last four years at the helm and the last five S&T teams at least broke even in conference play.  Four of the six teams led by Ahearn qualified for the GLVC Tournament.

“I want to thank Mark Mullin for giving me the opportunity and confidence to be the Missouri S&T head men's soccer coach,” Ahearn said.  ”I also want to give thanks to my Missouri S&T colleagues and the Rolla community for the support they have given me and my family and to the members of the GLVC for making me a better coach. 

“But most importantly, I want to thank the players for choosing to be better every day, on and off the field,” Ahearn added.  “We always said it would take something special to leave. We are very excited for the next chapter.”

“We are sorry to see Joe leave.  He made a tremendous impact on our men's soccer program and we appreciate his hard work and dedication to Miner Athletics,” said Mullin, Missouri S&T's director of athletics.  “He was always a team player and a great representative for our department and campus.  The position at Northwestern University is an excellent opportunity and we wish him, Katie, and the kids all the best.  The process of searching for our next men's soccer coach is already underway.”

The Miners reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever in 2010, where they defeated Ashland in the opening round before losing 3-2 in the Midwest Regional championship game to eventual national champion Northern Kentucky.  That culminated a season that saw S&T win a share of the GLVC's regular season title with NKU and Lewis.

Ahearn was named as the GLVC's “Coach of the Year” following the 2010 season, a season in which the Miners also produced their first two All-America performers on the field in goalkeeper Pat McNamee and defender Spencer Brinkmeyer (Kansas City, Mo./Oak Park).

A year later, the Miners reached the No. 7 spot in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America rankings for NCAA Division II after knocking off NKU when the Norse were ranked No. 1 in the country.  S&T knocked off three ranked teams during the 2011 season and six overall during Ahearn's tenure as head coach.

In his last three seasons, the Miners were 29-18-7 under Ahearn's direction.

The Miners have been one of the stingiest defensive teams in NCAA Division II over the last six years, allowing just barely over a goal per game (107 goals in 106 games) during that time.  The Miners ranked fourth in Division II in shutout percentage with a total of eight shutouts during the 2012 season and in their banner season in 2010, ranked in the top 10 nationally in three defensive categories, including a third place ranking for shutout percentage and fifth place showing in save percentage.

S&T's team goals against average of 0.69 that season ranked 10^th nationally and the Miners finished the past season at 0.79.  The 2010 team also set a school record with 11 shutouts, including five straight games in one stretch for a record mark of 570-plus minutes without allowing a goal.

In addition to the on-field performance, the Miners have also been one of the top academic teams in the Division II ranks as they have earned the NSCAA's team academic award and have had four Capital One Academic All-America selections as well as 14 academic all-district honorees.  Missouri S&T has also been the recipient of the GLVC's sportsmanship award in men's soccer in each of the last three seasons as voted on by Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members in the conference.

Ahearn will be joining a program at Northwestern that finished the 2012 season at 13-6-4 and won the Big Ten Conference with a 3-1-2 mark.  The Wildcats reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament and have been in the national tournament in seven of the last nine seasons under the direction of Tim Lenahan.

Northwestern University release