Police are searching for the suspect who stabbed a youth soccer coach and cut off his ear before leaving him to die on the sidewalk near Union Square early Sunday.

Police responded to a call of an assault on West 14th Street at about 4:30 a.m. and discovered 25-year-old Michael Jones lying in a pool of blood with stab wounds to his stomach and neck. His ear had also been cut off, police said.

Jones, a native of Liverpool, England and soccer coach for the Red Bulls Youth Training Program, was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. He lived in West Harrison in Westchester County.

Police released surveillance video of the suspect believed to have stabbed Jones as they canvassed the neighborhood looking for potential witnesses.

Bystanders said they were horrified to think that such a crime could happen in the usually bustling part of Chelsea. Others said they were stunned.

The New York Red Bulls issued a statement calling Jones a "fantastic coach who loved soccer."

Jones' attacker is described as a man between the ages of 25 and 30 with a dark ponytail.

Police sources said that robbery did not appear to be the motive. The investigation is ongoing.