The Anteaters of the 90s and 2000s were going through a number of transitions. The calendar was turning over to a new millennium and the 2000s. UCI was rejoining the Big West. Anteater Stadium was ready to hold soccer matches. And joining the fold in a transition of his own was Saul Wolf on his way to becoming a pivotal member of UC Irvine soccer.

Born in South Africa, Wolf's transitions began from a young age moving to the States and Irvine when he was six.

"Being in Irvine, I knew of UC Irvine. Two of my siblings went there for undergrad. I was intent on staying local for college soccer while in high school and club, but I got the opportunity to go on a scholarship to play for Wake Forest my freshman year."

The defender had every intention to start his collegiate career locally or at a UC school, but when the opportunity came to be a Demon Deacon, a program beginning to blossom in the ACC, he made the leap. His 1998 freshman year didn't really work out the way he would have liked playing seven matches and earning a start. After the season, he reached back out to head coach George Kuntz and was thinking of returning to Irvine, but he knew he would have to earn his spot.

Wolf quickly solidified his spot posting 11 points in 18 matches as a sophomore. He repeated that performance as a senior with 11 more points and accolades on top of it. He became the first Big West Defender of the Year from the program, added All-Far West Region honors, and Academic All-American status to an international studies major. He even recalled a win over UCLA in Los Angeles, a monumental accomplishment in any season, but took on even more meaning in 2001.

The squads were set to play on September 16, but soon after each team's previous match, the September 11 attacks happened and put everything on hold briefly. The match was pushed back a day to September 17, and Saul Wolf was there to punctuate the first game back by putting his own rebound in off a free kick in the ninth minute. The goal was the only one in a 1-0 victory over the seventh-ranked Bruins, and served as the only game-winning goal on Wolf's career.

Games and moments like that live on forever, but Wolf, like most of his teammates and alums of the program hardly recount the specific events.

"For me as a captain and a teammate, the thing I hold near to my heart was the comradery with my teammates. I miss that locker room, battling with each other. We had a really tight group especially my last year. We should have got a bid that year in my opinion. There was no conference tournament back then, so an at-large bid was the only way in."

Wolf and his teammates obviously think they earned to extend their season, not only to make their first NCAA Tournament, but keep the locker room and team going on this wild ride for another week or more.

"I still text weekly with some of the guys I finished with. We're still really tight - Sean Gesell, Scott Bowman, Lawrence Smalls, these guys are still really good friends of mine."
Wolf calls himself a social person by nature, so naturally he and his teammates would keep tabs after all these years while each was going down their separate career paths.

"My major was international studies, it was kind of this conglomeration of classes amongst social sciences, social ecology, and humanities departments. Nice to pick and choose from what you were interested in. I really didn't know what I wanted to do after college. My junior year, I took a constitutional law class and I dug it and dug the whole theory behind it, and thought maybe law school was a good idea."

Wolf was one foot in the law community, and still wanted to stay around soccer. He thought a law degree was something that made sense. He did well in school, graduated with honors, and contemplated becoming an agent to fulfill both fields, but really had no idea he would end up doing what he does now.

"When I came out of undergrad, I wasn't 100% sure about law school, but I thought maybe I should work in a law firm for a while, see if I like it. There was a law firm that was hiring for a file clerk position, something to help me figure it out, make some money, maybe travel for a bit before law school."

Fortunately for Wolf, his interview was with another Anteater alum. Scott Rynders, a men's golf alum, was the firm administrator, and seeing a fellow UCI athlete really caught his eye.

"The rest was history. I was initially doing real estate work at this firm, and they had a small practice related to sexual abuse that has grown over the years tremendously from things like the #MeToo movement and survivors starting to come forward."

Wolf's firm of Manly, Stewart, and Finaldi represents sexual assault and sexual abuse survivors, most of whom were children at the time. They've have represented hundreds of young girls that were abused by Dr. Larry Nassar along with a number of victims of sexual abuse by teachers in various school districts throughout the country.

"We advocate for these victims, civil lawsuits, to try to hold not only the perpetrators accountable, but almost as importantly, the entities that allowed for that abuse to occur accountable. Really heavy stuff to be working on, but it's really gratifying to help these families and give them something for the rest of their life."

Wolf's gratifying work of giving back extends to the men's soccer program. He lives nearby with his children who are also playing soccer, and tries to make it to as many home games as he can to support the teams, show his kids a future in college soccer, and also support his good friend, head coach Yossi Raz.

"I hold Yossi in the highest regard. He and I played against each other while he was at Northridge and I was in Irvine. We struck up a friendship even though we were adversaries in college just because he was a great player and good person."

Yossi's efforts to involve the alumni base prominently featured Wolf who tries to be involved in the alumni events that Yossi works to consistently organize.

"It's been tough going since everyone is so spread out. I've attempted to help grow the alumni network, get people connected, let people know Yossi is doing big things with the program, developing the right way to play at the grassroots level."

Both Saul and Yossi are doing everything they can to do gratifying work, grow and support their causes, and connecting through UC Irvine soccer.