Most coaches wouldn’t leave their team after their best record in six years.

Most coaches wouldn’t leave after doing it with a team dominated by freshmen and sophomores and only one senior.

But former NIU women’s soccer coach Frank Horvat isn’t most coaches.

“I’ve been thinking about leaving since the end of the year,” Horvat said. “It was just time to make a change after 12 and a half years of coaching.”

The 44-year-old coach left the Huskies after doubling the team’s win total from a year ago and finishing with a record of 6-7-5.

Horvat also led the Huskies to the best start and longest unbeaten streak in school history.

“I’m just taking a bit of a break to look into some other things,” Horvat said. “I’ll do something distant and different for a while.”

Junior Angeline Impelido, who played for Horvat for three years, said the team was shocked by the decision and she doesn’t believe he was forced out.

“None of us expected it,” Impelido said. “From what we understand it was all his decision. I think he has been thinking about it for the past two years.”

The timing of the decision was questionable, Impelido added.

“As a senior, it’s bad timing for me and it’s bad because of how we did last year,” Impelido said. “I’ve had three different assistants and now we’ll have two or more new coaches, but hopefully we will be able to move forward, and it will be for the better.”

Horvat, who had coached the Huskies since the team’s beginning in 1993, said he will spend more time with his family.

“I will stay in this area,” Horvat said. “My family and I have tremendous ties here and I want to spend more time with them in the next two or three months.”

Assistant athletics director Stacy Allie said Horvat has been reassigned to work in the women’s soccer department until his contract is up in June.