New London — Entering the season, senior Mike Daunt had a good feeling about the Coast Guard Academy men's soccer team.

The Bears remained committed to the program during last year's COVID-19 related shutdown and trained hard last spring in preparation for the fall season.

"We put in a lot of time on our own and as a team on the field and in the gym, so when we came back this year we were all very excited," Daunt said before practice on Wednesday. "We knew what we had but we knew we had to prove it, too. We had the right mentality about it."

Seven games into the season, the Bears have proven they're a strong team. They're unbeaten, going 6-0-1 for their best start since 2014 when they went 13-3-3 and earned an NCAA tournament bid for the first time since 1981.

They entered the Division III national rankings this week, checking in at No. 14. They're the top ranked team in Region II.

"It definitely feels good," Daunt said. "None of us have seen it before since we've been at the academy. But we can't really focus on it too much. We've just got to keep working."

They've shown grit and determination while playing a competitive schedule. They've overcome deficits, won four one-goal games and beaten a ranked team in No. 8 WPI. Their lone tie came against Salve Regina, 2-2 in double overtime, on Sept. 14.

The WPI result — a 2-1 decision on Saturday — vaulted CGA into the national ranking. The Bears trailed 1-0 at halftime.

"We've been down a few times this year," Daunt said. "Having the resiliency to bounce back is something the team is proud of and we've got to keep doing it."

So far, the Bears have been productive on the offensive end and stingy on the defense, outscoring opponents, 17-6. Daunt has a team-best four goals while senior Robbie Fugett has two goals and three assists.

Junior George Ackling, freshman Jude Sargent and senior Gabe Gallant anchor the defense.

"We're a very talented team," Daunt said. "We've been moving the ball a lot better than we have before. We have a lot of guys who are threats up top and being unselfish. Also, our guys in the back are helping us out, too."

Coach Chris Parsons, who's in his 20th season, had no idea how good his team would be entering the season. He saw promising signs last spring when Coast Guard played three games.

"We won those games and we scored some goals...," Parsons said. "The spring gave us a lot of confidence, but I still wasn't sure what was going to happen when things actually started up."

The Bears blanked Rhode Island College, 4-0, in their season opener and kept rolling from there.

They're enjoying the ride.

"They work hard and get along well," Parsons said. "To be honest with you, this year I just wanted to enjoy just playing again. If we win, great. If we lose, at least we're back at it. I came in with less of an uptight attitude."

They don't expect to go undefeated. The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference is fiercely competitive. Babson, which visits CGA on Oct. 9, is ranked No. 21.

There's still a ton of work to be done to end up having a successful season.

"We keep reminding ourselves not to get ahead of ourselves and not to put too much pressure on ourselves about what the record is," Daunt said. "Just go win the next game."

Up next is a conference game at Clark University on Saturday.

CGA's game at Mitchell College Wednesday was postponed due to a Mitchell staff member testing positive for COVID.

g.keefe@theday.com