After leading his team to an outstanding 11-5-2 season, Pioneer men’s head soccer coach Chad Ashton announced Jan. 17 that he would be leaving the University of Denver athletic program to pursue a career in major league soccer.

Ashton will be an assistant coach with the D.C. United Soccer Club, under head coach Tom Soehn.

“It wasn’t anything that I had planned out,” said Ashton, the 2006 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-coach of the Year, about his sudden departure. “It is a great opportunity as a coach, something that I couldn’t pass up.”

Ashton is now reunited with Soehn, whom he played professionally for the Colorado Foxes (APSL), the Wichita Wings (MISL) and the Dallas Burn (MLS).

“I get a chance to coach with a guy who I used to play with, respect a great deal and who just moved up to a head coaching position,” said Ashton about getting to coach with an old friend. “I know (Soehn) very well, and he is someone that I can trust.”

Ashton, who had the second longest tenure of any head soccer coach in DU history, said that the decision to leave was a hard one.

“It was a very difficult decision,” said Ashton. “I’m from Denver and really looked forward to spending the rest of my professional career in this city. It was just too good of an opportunity to pass up.”

Though this was a hard decision, Ashton said that the decision for him to leave was equally hard on a large number of his players. He said that he did have to make time for some one-on-one meetings with players to explain his rationale for leaving.

“It’s a difficult thing,” said Ashton of telling his team. “We had a team meeting; everyone handled it well. A lot of the guys were sad, but many of them were happy for me.”

A move to coaching in professional soccer was never an aspiration for him, Ashton said. However, now that he has joined the professional ranks of coaching, he now hopes that he will once again move up to a head coaching position.

“I hope that I can,” said Ashton of the possibility of becoming a head coach of an MLS team. “But right now, I am just very happy with where I am. If I ever did get the chance to be a head coach that would be great, but I am really not worrying about that right now.”

In addition to a stellar professional playing career, Ashton was a three-time All-ACC selection for the University of North Carolina, where he finished his career as the Tarheels’ all-time assists leader.

Ashton was 85-85-14 in his ten seasons with the Pioneers, earning MPSF Coach of the Year in both 2004 and 2006.