Since head coach Tony Amato took over Arizona Soccer on Dec. 5, 2012, the Wildcats have enjoyed unprecedented success. In his first five seasons, Arizona has amassed a record of 54-34-13 and has played in three NCAA Tournaments in the last four years.

How good is that? It took the Wildcats more than eight seasons to win 54 games prior to Amato's arrival.
 
Amato is the first coach in Arizona history to lead the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances and is already two wins away from becoming the winningest coach in Arizona history, which has crossed his mind.
 
"I have thought about it from the viewpoint that the players have put in so much work and when we got here they had to take a leap of faith to buy into my philosophy," Amato said. "We wanted the program to develop and the work they have put in over those five years allowed us to have the success that resulted in going to a Sweet 16 and multiple second rounds. It feels great knowing we were able to get players to buy into what we wanted and we have definitely recognized that."
 
Coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2005, the 2015 season has been the highlight of Amato's career as he led the Wildcats to a 14-5-2 record and advanced to the second Sweet 16 in school history. Led by the likes of seniors Sheaffer Skadsen, Hannah Wong, Alexa Montgomery, Hayley Estopare as well as key underclassmen such as Laura Pimienta, Paige Crouch, Jaden DeGracie and Gabi Stoian, the Wildcats recorded the most wins in a season since 2004 when Arizona was co-Pac-10 Champions.
 
"When I took the job, the original plan was making the NCAA Tournament by year five," Amato said. "To make it in 2014 and win a game was a really special moment because it felt like we weren't just happy to be there. You go into 2015 and there were some players that were really driving that one step further than the year before mentality, and that is in line with the competitive fire. They weren't satisfied from the year before and they were focused on how do we go one game further."
 
The first weekend of the 2015 season posed a challenge to the Wildcats as Santa Clara was set to visit Mulcahy Stadium on Aug. 24 for the second game of the season. Cece Bilginer scored a late game-winner, and from there, Amato and the Wildcats never looked back.
 
"We played against Santa Clara in the opening weekend and we won the game, and that made everyone in our program think 'woah, we are going to do this,'" said Amato. "We knew we were going to be good this year based on that competitive fire. That pushed us on and once we got in the NCAA Tournament it felt like we belonged, especially hosting the first weekend for the first time in school history. We were matched up with Santa Clara again in the second round and it felt really special right after that game when we won and advanced to the Sweet 16. It solidified that the year before wasn't a fluke and when the year ended it felt like that was the standard and we needed to keep raising the bar."
 
Skadsen, one of the main pieces to the success of that 2015 team is one of those players that had to really buy into the system and take a leap of faith as she was already on the team when Amato took the job. She went from coming into college as an attacker to becoming one of the best defenders in the Pac-12 as well as Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
 
"Tony is very intentional with everything he does," Skadsen said. "Everything from practice times to pre-game meals, to line up and formation—he has a plan. He has a reason for every decision and to go beyond that, he shares that with the team. This communication is rare and something a lot of players aren't used to. This is what takes teams to the next level, being on the same page, understanding and respecting the coach and feeling like part of the process."
 
Now that we are five years into the Tony Amato era, it is safe to say this kind of success can be expected as there has only been one season in his five years as head coach where Arizona hasn't finished over .500 (2016; 9-9-1).
 
"When you have success and keep getting better players that buy in even more, you keep growing, especially when you have a growth mentality," Amato said. "That has been our focus, getting players in, getting results, having a growth mentality, having a vision, having a mission and always having that drive to get better. That is really at the core of what I'm about and I think that trickles down."
 
"Playing under a head coach like Tony is rare to find," Stoian said. "He has a true passion for the game and invests time and effort into making his players better every day. Since he took over this program, our team has been winning games and making runs in the NCAA tournament, something that is now expected every single year. Tony has set high standards for this program and I only expect to see improvements in the years to follow."
 
So what is the next step for Amato and the Wildcats? A quarterfinals appearance? A trip to the College Cup? A difficult task no doubt, but with the way the Arizona soccer program has been climbing under Amato, it isn't inconceivable.
 
"I am always pushing and urging, 'now what? How do we get better?' " Amato said. "Always pushing that envelope will help us take the next step. We need to keep thinking outside the box and need to overcome obstacles and present things differently, and I think those three things will help us take that next step. The team knows that and that combined with finding things we can be elite at, having an identity, knowing what were good at and knowing who we are will help us continue to push us going forward.
 
"Everyone has weaknesses, but we don't want to focus on that. We look at what each player is good at and try to make them elite at it. We highlight what were good at as a team and that gives us an identity. That has been at the core of how we have gotten from year one to year five."