Soccer <\/p>\n
Whether a born-and-raised native or a transplant embracing the club that invested faith and resources in them, most homegrown players across MLS are products of their local environment who wear their club\u2019s crest with a special sense of pride.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
It\u2019s been a bit different for Owen Wolff<\/a> and his older brother Tyler<\/a>, thanks to the playing and coaching careers of their father Josh. A standout striker with the US men\u2019s national team<\/a> and Chicago<\/a>, Kansas City<\/a>, 1860 Munich and D.C. United<\/a>, the elder Wolff then worked on the technical staffs of D.C., Columbus<\/a> and the USMNT before becoming Austin FC<\/a>\u2019s first-ever head coach.<\/p>\n Though quite young for much of dad\u2019s soccer journey, Owen remembers vivid little snapshots along the way. Ventures into the bouncing stands and roaring chants of the D.C. supporters\u2019 section at old RFK Stadium. Navigating life as an expatriate in distant Germany. Hanging around the Crew\u2019s training facility as Josh ran first-team sessions with head coach Gregg Berhalter.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n You might say MLS as a whole shaped the Wolff brothers as much as any one locale.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve always been around soccer,\u201d Owen told MLSsoccer.com in a one-on-one conversation this week as he and his Austin teammates prepare to host San Diego FC<\/a> at Q2 Stadium for Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire (4 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up, I watched my dad a lot, that played a big role into wanting to be a soccer player, as well as with my older brother, just watching him and being around him, and seeing how competitive we are when we’re doing things together.\u201d<\/p>\n That environment helped nurture two professionals to follow in dad\u2019s footsteps \u2013 and maybe more, considering their younger siblings Gavin and Ella are also in the mix \u2013 but it also exposed Owen to an all-too-familiar trope in children\u2019s sports. It\u2019s a persistent stereotype that often boils down to just two words, a phrase often tossed about in the increasingly cutthroat world of competitive youth soccer.<\/p>\n Coach\u2019s son.<\/p>\n No matter how talented or dedicated a player may be, skeptics can swiftly cast shade over their qualifications simply by uttering that phrase \u2013 even though it\u2019s well-established that elite professionals tend to arise from industrious, soccer-obsessed environments like the ones coaches create. The examples are many: Bob and Michael Bradley, Harry and Jamie Redknapp, Cesare and Paolo Maldini, Zinedine and Luca Zidane, to name a few.<\/p>\n Perhaps it was inevitable, then, that Owen would become a target among a small but outspoken slice of Austin\u2019s devoted fanbase as popular sentiment turned against his father Josh in the final stages of his tenure as the Verde & Black\u2019s head coach, which ended in October after the central Texans were eliminated from Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs contention.<\/p>\n Owen is the first homegrown player in ATX history, and made his first-team debut at the tender age of 16 in 2021. He\u2019s been a standout performer in most of his appearances since then, maturing into a well-rounded central midfielder with technique and intelligence as well as the necessary physical tools. He represented the US prominently at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, contributing a goal and two assists as Mikey Varas\u2019 side reached the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Our first homegrown hits the century mark. ????<\/p>\n Owen Wolff’s start tonight marks his 100th appearance in all competitions for Austin FC! pic.twitter.com\/qyMHyz8Hus<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Austin FC (@AustinFC) March 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n \u201cOwen’s always been like, a quietly confident dude. I’ve been perusing his numbers since he was here \u2013 obviously there’s criticism because of the family ties in recent years,\u201d said teammate Jon Gallagher<\/a>. \u201cBut I think if you look at his actual play, he’s been sensational. You look at his age, too, it’s quite remarkable. I don’t know what I was doing at 16 \u2013 he’s making his debut and then he’s starting almost every game for us at the ages of 18, 19, 20, and playing a major impact in this league, which isn’t easy.\u201d<\/p>\n If there was any lingering suspicion of nepotism around Q2 Stadium, the match-winning performances by \u2018Teen Wolff\u2019 in the first four weeks of the 2025 campaign under new coach Nico Est\u00e9vez have surely vanquished it once and for all.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I tried to trade for him a lot of times when I wasn’t here,\u201d the former FC Dallas<\/a> head coach said of Wolff on Thursday. \u201cEveryone in the league that knows a little bit about the game knows that he is one of the better young prospect players that we have in this country. We just have to keep helping him to do his thing, just be confident, be relaxed, enjoy the game.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s young, he has a lot of things to keep growing and learning and help him to make his dreams, as we want to help any player here. But the only thing I can say, I always loved the way that he plays.\u201d<\/p>\n Est\u00e9vez, in fact, has known Owen since he was about 10 years old. The Spaniard initially worked as the Crew academy\u2019s director of methodology before joining Berhalter\u2019s first-team staff, and saw the building blocks already falling into place for his colleague\u2019s precocious kid. Now things have come full circle as he works to provide the player with the finishing touches to soar into the next phase of his career.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was doing his first steps in the Columbus academy when I was the director there. You already could see that he was different, that he had something special,\u201d recalled Est\u00e9vez.<\/p>\n \u201cNow it’s about how we can help him to mature his game. And it’s about playing, it’s about gaining that confidence. It is not like we coaches give confidence,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s players giving confidence to the staff to select you. And I think one of the things that he’s been very consistent this year is giving confidence every single day that he shows up to training, he shows up to the game, that he can be an important player for the team.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sheeeesh, Owen Wolff ????@AustinFC<\/a> only scores bangers! pic.twitter.com\/zzaOzrwEpp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 12, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Austin (6 points, 2W-2L-0D) are off to a reasonably solid start under Est\u00e9vez, and can step into a wider spotlight this weekend with steadily growing confidence, thanks to contributions great and small from Wolff.<\/p>\n Both of the Verde & Black’s wins were 1-0 results, and both of those goals came from corner kicks, both delivered by Wolff, crucial breakthroughs which allowed ATX to reap the maximum points return from dogged defensive performances like the one that powered their 1-0 upset<\/a> of LAFC<\/a> in Los Angeles last Saturday.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a high compliment to Wolff\u2019s abilities that on a roster with an average age of 27.3, on which all eight international roster slots and a full allotment of three Designated Players are being utilized, for a club that spent upwards of $25 million over the winter and have broken their own transfer-fee record three times in the past year, it\u2019s a 20-year-old homegrown who has been entrusted with those key set-piece duties.<\/p>\n Est\u00e9vez even goes so far as to compare Owen\u2019s cultivation of those deliveries to Christian Pulisic, relating the consistency he watched the USMNT star painstakingly develop on the training ground during his tenure with the national team staff. Wolff has provided plenty of hard graft on both sides of the ball as a box-to-box central midfielder, too; he\u2019s ATX\u2019s early co-leader in key passes, for example, and has clocked some of their highest ground coverage data.<\/p>\n In sum, it\u2019s a profile very comparable to some of the biggest outbound transfers among MLS homegrowns, and Owen does indeed aspire to test himself in one of Europe\u2019s top leagues someday soon. That ambition adds further weight to his 2025 outlook.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso his contribution on the side that is not that pretty, that is working for the team, winning balls \u2013 he is a player that recovers a lot of balls, covers a lot of ground,\u201d noted Est\u00e9vez. \u201cThe other day he was able to do almost 13 kilometers in that game. That means he’s a player that physically has the attributes to be a player that can help the team, make the difference for Austin FC.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this is a good season for him, because of the profile of player that he is and the profile of players that we don’t have. He’s bringing to the table a player that has a really good understanding of playing in between the lines, that has really good acceleration and dribbling forward, and also has a really good pass in behind the back line.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 31, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Owen couldn\u2019t help but take some notice of the negative feedback about his father in some quarters of the Verde faithful as the team struggled in the wake of their excellent 2022 season. Yet he credits the support he gained in ATX\u2019s locker room for helping him on an even keel, having already won the respect of his elder teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t really pay attention to it too much, and I feel like it’s a good thing, because it helped me just stay in my own mental space that I really didn’t get affected by it,\u201d he said. \u201cI had guys around me that also gave me that confidence that, like, you don’t have to worry about any of the outside stuff or what other people believe. We have you here and we have your back. So it was nice to have that.\u201d<\/p>\n Even at age 20, he\u2019s internalized the concept that all of this just comes with the territory.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s going to come with what we do. It doesn’t matter if I’m playing under my dad or not,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like any player is going to get that criticism no matter where they are.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m able to have my own impact on the Austin organization, and my career is totally separate from who my father was. So I feel like I always had that opportunity to help build that career.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Owen Wolff has started 18 matches and tallied 6 goal contributions since the start of 2024, including his match-winning assist vs. SKC.<\/p>\n Only 3 other MLS players born in 2004 or later have more G+A in that span. pic.twitter.com\/aREVmcpaIJ<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Austin FC Communications (@AustinFC_PR) February 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It is nonetheless worth noting that he\u2019s now ATX\u2019s lone Wolff. Josh recently joined Ben Olsen\u2019s coaching staff at Houston Dynamo FC<\/a>, so he, his wife Angela and their younger children are in the process of relocating to the Bayou City, while Tyler, 22, moved from Atlanta United<\/a> to Real Salt Lake<\/a> over the winter. That means Owen will need to strike out on his own at some point this year.<\/p>\n On that subject, he finally begins to sound less like a seasoned veteran and more like someone just beginning his life as an adult. And Texas\u2019 capital city is a great spot for that, even if he\u2019s already leery of a rising cost of living in his near future.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m excited. But also, like, I don’t know \u2013 I have to be spending money on my own place now,\u201d he said with a grin. \u201cI’m thinking about moving downtown, so I\u2019ll definitely be able to experience [Austin life] a little more. But yeah, it’s definitely felt like home, being able to be here for the last four years, five years. It’s a place that I feel comfortable at and I’m excited to start living on my own. If I’m moving downtown, that’d be amazing, but still trying to figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n Those who’ve watched him come of age over the past few years will be there to lend a guiding hand as needed.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m a big fan of his, truly, and I’m not just saying that as a teammate,\u201d said Gallagher. \u201cI really do believe that this kid is pretty special, and he’s got a lot of tools that a lot of us wish we had at that age. He’s got a level head, comes from a good family, a soccer family, his soccer IQ is really high. I think if you look physically too, he’s a beast, a specimen, honestly \u2013 so strong you forget his age half the time, you\u2019ve got remind yourself sometimes.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s been pretty impressive for us this season, and he’s shown his levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nSoccer scion<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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The genuine article<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Midfield engine<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Lone Wolff<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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