With 13 games so far this season, the men’s soccer team sits in third place in the America East collegiate soccer league. Pegged to finish sixth in the preseason poll, UVM is on track to impress. With only five losses on the season and entering a stretch of league play, third place could be a safe bet.

The men have fought for six wins so far this season, with one win in league play. The most impressive thing about their season so far, however, is not their third place position in America East, but rather the fact that all six wins have been shutouts.

A large portion of their goal-less successes is due to their standing as one of the best defensive units in the league. The Cats have the second lowest goals allowed average in the league and, of course, the highest number of shutouts. While the defensive team is certainly responsible for these standings, at the heart of this unit is Sophomore goaltender Dave Ramada.

Ramada sits no lower than fourth in every goaltender statistic in the league. He has more shutouts than any other goalie in the league and was named an America East men’s soccer player of the week earlier this season. He also has just over 1.00 goals against average this year.

Facing only one America East team ranked higher than them for the remainder of the season, UVM has a chance to enter this year’s playoffs in an ideal spot. They have five games before the November postseason and with Ramada in goal and leading scorers Joe Losier and Yannick Lewis up front, the Cats may just have a shot at their first title since 2007.