Joe Ahearn was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2016 by Tim Lenahan. In his four years in Evanston, Ahearn has played a substantial role in the recruitment and development of several key Wildcats.
Ahearn has mentored multiple Wildcats to Big Ten Conference postseason honors, including five players to All-Big Ten selections (Joey Calistri, Cole Missimo, Nikko Boxall, Tyler Miller, Chris Ritter) and six players to All-Freshman Team selections (Tommy Katsyiannis, Garrett Opperman, Mattias Tomasino, Camden Buescher, Sam Forsgren, Elo Ozumba).
Additionally, Ahearn oversaw the 2014 campaign in which Tyler Miller win Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year and Nikko Boxall win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Ahearn was a key recruiter for Northwestern’s recruiting class of 2018 that ranks 25th in the nation according to Top Drawer Soccer. Newcomers Richie Bennett, Jayson Cyrus, Jose Del Valle, Bardia Kimiavi, Connor McCabe and Julian Zighelboim compose the class.
Ahearn joined the Northwestern men's soccer program in February of 2013 as an assistant coach. Prior to his arrival in Evanston, he served for six years as the head men's soccer coach at Missouri S&T and also worked for five years on the coaching staffs at Colgate and DePaul.
While at Missouri S&T, Ahearn enjoyed success as the first coach to lead the Miners to the NCAA Division II Tournament and the regional championships game. In 2010 the Miners were GLVC Regular Season Co-Champions and he was honored as a finalist for the Division II National Coach of the Year award while also earning the distinction of Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
Ahearn also coached the first two All-Americans in program history in goalkeeper Pat McNamee and defender Spencer Brinkmeyer. Both players were key components to the Miner defense in 2010 that posted 11 shutouts and had the third-best shutout percentage in NCAA Division II.
During his two seasons at Colgate, Ahearn helped guide the Raiders to two appearances in the Patriot League Tournament and was the assistant director of the university's boys soccer camps.
Ahearn began his coaching career at his alma mater, DePaul, spending three seasons on the Blue Demon sideline. Aside from his coaching duties, he served as the primary recruiting coordinator and liaison between the student-athletes and athletic academic counseling. The Blue Demons received the Conference USA Academic Excellence Award in 2003 and six players were named to the Conference USA Commissioners Honor Roll during his tenure.
Prior to that, he worked as the equipment operations coordinator for the United States Soccer Federation and traveled with the national team to the 2002 World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan. He also traveled with the team when it took part in the Under-20 World Championships in Argentina.
A 2000 DePaul graduate, Ahearn played 67 games over his four-year career and started every game his last three seasons. He was selected to the Conference USA all-league team as a third-team selection following the 1999 season and was chosen as his team's most valuable player.
He is the holder of a United States Soccer Federation National A coaching license.