Aaron Macke, St. Thomas men’s soccer coach, resigned unexpectedly in an email sent to the team Friday, Feb. 17. 

Macke said that he stepped down in order to focus his time and energy on his three sons, who are four, six and nine years old. He also wants to focus on his job as the St. Thomas Residence Life director.

“Working as the head coach for St. Thomas has been a dream come true,” Macke said. “This was a difficult decision and being head coach is a big commitment to make. Two jobs were just not feasible anymore.”

 Senior Alex Daley said he and his teammates were shocked after hearing that Macke decided to call it quits after 10 seasons.

“Personally, I didn’t expect it,” Daley said. “I respect his decision completely. He’s a great coach and an even better person, a great leader, and he’s going to be missed by the guys.”

Macke said he is confident that the soccer team will remain focused in its training for the fall season and knows it will be successful in the years to come.

“This is the best team I’ve been apart of,” Macke said. “It’s a special group of guys, they’re talented and make a cohesive team.”

Daley was coached by Macke all four years of his career at St. Thomas and said he thanks Macke for the memories.

“I want to thank him for his time and his commitment and effort to the team,” Daley said. “I’ve really learned a lot from him both on and off the field.”

Daley said that although the team may be disappointed, the players are looking ahead to what next season will bring.

“Like we always do, after a loss, after you get kicked down you get up,” Daley said. “You rally together, and you push forward.”

As far as who will fill the coaching position, it is up to Athletic Director Steve Fritz. Macke said that the position is posted on the St. Thomas website, and Fritz will begin collecting resumes as they come in.

Macke will remain part of the recruitment process this spring and will serve as a contact for the team as long as Fritz allows.

Macke took over as head coach in 2002 after four years at St. Thomas as a player and four years as an assistant coach.

Macke’s 2002 team tied for third in the conference and finished 10-4-3 overall. In 2003, St. Thomas finished 12-7 and made the MIAC playoffs. In 2009, the Tommies finished 10-7-2 and had four players named to the All-MIAC first team and three players named to the All-North Region team.

Last year, Macke coached the team to a 7-6-2 record. However, the team did not qualify for the MIAC playoffs.

 In his 10 years as head coach, Macke led St. Thomas to a 102-57-21 record and posted six top-four MIAC finishes.

Macke replaced legendary coach Denzil Lue, who retired in 2001 after 23 seasons at St. Thomas. Lue’s teams compiled a 220-128-34 collegiate record, including four MIAC championships and four NCAA tournament berths.

Macke received All-Region and All-MIAC honors as a player and helped the Tommies win a MIAC championship and reach the NCAA playoffs in 1995. He was an All-State high school player at Cretin-Derham Hall and also played on the 1996 Men’s USA Midwest Regional Select team.

Olivia Cronin contributed to this article.