Head coach Phil Wolf begins his seventh season at the helm of the Azusa Pacific men's soccer program. In 6 seasons, Wolf has posted an 87-24-14 mark, leading the Cougars to two GSAC championships and a handful of program firsts. In 2004, Wolf led the Cougars to the first NAIA Tournament win in program history. A year later, he took Azusa Pacific to its first-ever NAIA championship game. After a second straight title game appearance in 2006, the program’s first-ever NAIA title seems well within reach for a program Wolf has now turned into a national power.
In 2004, Wolf's fourth season at the helm, a young set of Cougars broke through with a 17-win campaign that saw them advance to the second round of the NAIA Tournament, providing the springboard for a 20-5 campaign in 2005 that tied a program record for wins and saw the Cougars make a miraculous NAIA Tournament run to the title game, where they suffered a 4-1 defeat to Lindsey Wilson (Ky.). Wolf was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's 2005 Coach of the Year, the first coach in the history of NAIA's Region II to be so honored.
If the 2005 season served as Azusa Pacific’s introduction to the national men’s soccer scene, the 2006 campaign squarely planted the Cougars into the NAIA’s elite. After a 2-2-1 start through the first half of the conference schedule, Wolf’s squad reeled off a 12-game unbeaten streak, including 6 consecutive postseason wins that landed Azusa Pacific in the NAIA title game for the second straight year. The Cougars’ 2006 run to the championship game included a dramatic tournament-opening victory over Lee (Tenn.) in the longest NAIA Tournament game ever decided by a shootout, a back-and-forth battle that finally went in favor of the Cougars when Kolt Callaway buried the 20th penalty kick into the upper right corner for the 9-8 shootout win. A 3-1 quarterfinal win over Northwood (Fla.) and a 1-0 semifinal victory over William Jewell (Mo.) sent the Cougars back to the title game for a rematch with Graceland (Iowa), 1 of 3 teams that defeated Azusa Pacific in the regular season. After 110 minutes of scoreless play, the national title was claimed by second-seeded Graceland when it edged the eighth-seeded Cougars, 7-6, in another 10-round shootout.
Six seasons ago, Wolf replaced Azusa Pacific Hall of Fame coach Don Lawrence, who retired from coaching in January of 2001 to become the director of Azusa Pacific's Yosemite Sierra Semester. After 16 seasons at the helm, Lawrence, who guided Azusa Pacific to the Golden State Athletic Conference title in 3 of the past 5 seasons, stepped away as the GSAC's all-time winningest coach, compiling a 180-105-18 record since 1985.
In Lawrence's place, Wolf inherited an Azusa Pacific team that graduated just 2 players from the 2000 squad that finished 17-2-1, won the GSAC crown and was ranked No. 2 in the final NAIA Coaches' Poll. In his first season in 2001, Wolf was named GSAC Coach of the Year after leading the Cougars to one of the finest seasons in school history. The Cougars finished 15-1-3, clinching a share of a second straight GSAC title and advancing to the NAIA Region II championship game-not too bad for a rookie.
In the summer of 2004, Wolf snatched up an opportunity to coach the Cascade Surge of the Premier Developmental League (PDL) in Cascade, Ore. With 4 former Cougars on his roster, Wolf guided the Surge to their best season in their 10-year existence. The Surge finished 11-4-1 and were champions of the Northwest Division.
Wolf came to Azusa Pacific after 5 seasons as an assistant at Wheaton, serving for legendary head coach Joe Bean. He was a key assistant on Wheaton's 1997 NCAA Division III national championship team and was on staff when the Thunder set an NCAA all-divisions record with 66 consecutive matches without a loss.
Azusa Pacific is Wolf's first opportunity as a head coach on the collegiate level. He did serve one season (1999) as head coach of the boys' soccer team at Wesleyan Academy in High Point, N.C.
As a player, Wolf was a 3-time NCAA Division III All-American at Wheaton, earning third-team recognition as a 1989 sophomore and first-team honors in 1990 and 1991. He led the Thunder to a combined 4-year record of 77-10-6, a mark that produced 4 conference titles and an appearance in the 1990 NCAA Division III Final Four. By the time he graduated he was the program's third all-time scorer with 135 career points (now fifth within a program that has produced 32 All-Americans and 2 NCAA championship teams).
Wolf went on to play 5 seasons of professional soccer, 3 campaigns of indoor play with the Dayton Dynamo (NPSL) and then on the outdoor circuit with the Charlotte Eagles (USL), Rockford Raptors (USL) and the Chicago Stingers (USL).
Wolf prepped at Wheaton North High School and graduated from Wheaton College with a bachelor's degree in communications in 1992. He completed his master's degree in evangelism from Wheaton in 2004.
Phil's older brother, Dave Wolf, is the athletic director and men's soccer coach at GSAC rival Westmont College.
Wolf is married to the former Melanie Culbreth. They have one son, Barrett (7) and two daughters, Maggie (5) and Maryn (2).
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