There has been a revolution in numbers over the USL Championship era, both when it comes to the data that’s now available to the league and its clubs via official data provider Opta and the underlying numbers that are now available via resources like American Soccer Analysis.

For goalkeepers, while the overall top-line numbers of save percentage, goals-against average, shutouts and more remain in place, the new levels of data have improved the way we can assess and evaluate what players bring to the field each season, with ASA’s Goals Added metric among the most interesting.

Since the USL partnered with Opta in 2017, the data has allowed ASA to evaluate outfield players and goalkeepers by their own metrics – in the case of goalkeepers, the six fields are Claiming, Fielding, Handling, Passing, Shotstopping and Sweeping.

This past campaign, Sacramento Republic FC’s Danny Vitiello led the league with a +11.20 G+ rating, the best of his career so far. So, we wondered where that ranks in league history, using ASA’s metrics as a guide.

Here’s what we got as the Top 10 since 2017.

No. 10 – Eric Dick, Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (2024): +7.88 G+

After numerous seasons as a back-up at Sporting Kansas City and Minnesota United FC – with sporadic starts on loan in the USL Championship – Eric Dick got his first opportunity to be a full-time starter with Pittsburgh in the 2024 season and made the most of it. The 6-foot-5 shot-stopper put up an outstanding campaign in which he claimed the Golden Glove with a 0.69 Goals-Against Average and Goalkeeper of the Year honors.

As part of a stellar Hounds’ defense, Dick averaged 2.61 saves per game but the stops he made were high-level, resulting in a -10.44 Goals Prevented mark. The knock on his overall Goals Added mark came from his distribution and work as a sweeper-keeper, but his 79.1 percent save percentage highlighted how remarkable this campaign was.

No. 9 – Damian Las, Louisville City FC (2025): +7.94 G+

As he returned on loan to Louisville City from Austin FC for a second season this year, Damian Las was among the players who took a major jump in his top-level and underlying numbers, and claimed both the USL Championship Golden Glove and Goalkeeper of the Year award in the process. The 23-year-old posted a 0.70 goals-against average and a save percentage of 80 percent in 26 appearances while helping LouCity to one of the best defensive campaigns in league history.

Las’ underlying numbers weren’t quite as strong – he posted a -2.38 Goals Prevented mark, but he got a solid bump in his Goals Added rating from his sweeping and ball-handling which complemented his primary shot-stopping numbers as he averaged 2.77 saves per game. The question now will be whether the former U.S. U-17 international will get his shot in the top flight.

No. 8 – Matt VanOekel, Birmingham Legion FC (2021): +8.41 G+

If you want a key reason behind the best season in Birmingham Legion’s history, club stalwart Matt VanOekel’s performance between the sticks is right up there. The veteran shot-stopper produced what is by the numbers the best campaign of his career as he turned 35 years old, recording 80 saves at a 76 percent save percentage while producing a 0.96 goals-against average as Legion averaged 1.88 points per game to finish third in the Eastern Conference behind only Players’ Shield winner the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Louisville City FC.

VanOekel’s underlying numbers were equally impressive, putting up a -5.12 Goals Prevented mark and a +8.08 shot-stopping mark – which ranks seventh among this list – while putting together solid numbers elsewhere. For a player who’s now among the league’s all-time leaders in saves and shutouts, this was likely the peak of his career.

No. 7 - Colin Shutler, Orange County SC (2024): +8.73 G+

It was always going to be a challenge for Colin Shutler to be in the picture for awards at the end of the 2024 regular season – his 1.32 goals-against average wasn’t going to put him close to the Golden Glove leaderboard, which has almost become a de facto guide for who’s going to be in the window for All-League and Goalkeeper of the Year – but there might have been no individual who played a bigger role in earning Orange County a postseason berth in 2024 than the standout shot-stopper.

Shutler recorded a career-high 98 saves at a save percentage of 72.6 percent to help OCSC into the postseason. His underlying numbers also shone, as he posted a -3.95 Goals Prevented mark per Opta while recording 12 shutouts in 28 appearances. As notably, the 27-year-old was a plus player across all six of American Soccer Analysis’ goalkeeping metrics – something that’s generally rare in a full season – showing what an impact he had on the club’s success.

No. 6 – Nate Steinwascher, Detroit City FC (2022): +9.09 G+

Of all the questions about Detroit City’s arrival in the USL Championship for the 2022 season, front and center was how the players who had delivered success to the club previously in its history would adapt to the higher level of competition they were set to face in the Championship. For goalkeeper and local legend Nate Steinwascher, the answer was emphatic as he quickly embedded himself among the top goalkeepers in the league.

Steinwascher’s performance was key to Le Rouge claiming a postseason berth in its first campaign. He posted a 0.88 goals-against average while averaging 2.66 saves per game, but what stood out most was the quality of denials he delivered. Steinwascher’s -8.07 goals prevented mark was the best of his three seasons in the league – as was his save percentage of 75 percent – which added up to a remarkable campaign.

No. 5 – Danny Vitiello, Sacramento Republic FC (2024): +9.69 G+

In 2023, Danny Vitiello won the USL Championship Golden Glove and Goalkeeper of the Year award after a stellar campaign for Republic FC. So, how did he follow that? By delivering a campaign that by its underlying numbers was even better.

Notably, Vitiello’s top-lying numbers dropped a fraction – he recorded a 0.97 goals-against average in 2024 compared to 0.87 the prior year, and his save percentage dropped a couple of ticks to 74.6 percent – but the saves the New York native made were arguably more valuable. Vitiello produced a Goals Prevented mark of -6.12 – almost twice as good as his 2023 season – and a stop-stopping rating of +9.42 per ASA. His reward? Runner-up for Goalkeeper of the Year, as Pittsburgh’s Eric Dick claimed the award.

No. 4 – Renan Ribeiro, Hartford Athletic (2024): +9.80 G+

How do you get nominated for the USL Championship Goalkeeper of the Year award while competing for a team that didn’t reach the postseason? You put together the sort of season Renan Ribeiro had for Hartford Athletic in 2024.

The Brazilian put together a spectacular season, tying for the league-lead in the regular season with 102 saves while posting a save percentage of 76.3 percent, which mitigated his 1.22 goals-against average when it came to regular season. Ribeiro’s Goals Prevented mark of -6.46 helped keep Athletic in the race for the playoffs until the final week of the regular season, while his awareness in coming off his line to sweep up in Head Coach Brendan Burke’s high-pressing system helped keep other opportunities off the board.

No. 3 – Connor Sparrow, Real Monarchs SLC (2017): +10.63

Connor Sparrow’s 2017 season is one of the anomalies of era in which MLS reserve sides played in the USL Championship, often with a rotating cast of players that moved in and out of the lineup. Sparrow only made 19 regular season appearances for the Monarchs this season, but when he was in the lineup he proved a key figure in the side lifting the Players’ Shield at the end of the season.

The primary reason for that? Sparrow put in a season for the ages when it came to shot-stopping. In addition to averaging 3.26 saves per game, and logging a save percentage of 78.4 percent, it was nigh-on impossible to beat the man from the penalty spot. Sparrow saved four of the five penalty kicks he faced on the way to a 0.89 goals-against average and a +9.96 shot-stopping rating to power his remarkable overall rating.

No. 2 – Danny Vitiello, Sacramento Republic FC (2025): +11.20 G+

How do you take your best season as a professional and continue to improve? For Republic FC’s Danny Vitiello, the answer was in the details. The only goalkeeper to appear in this list twice, Vitiello’s most recent campaign delivered plenty of what has made him an All-League selection for three consecutive seasons – a save percentage of 72.2 percent, -5.39 Goals Prevented mark, 0.9 goals-against average – but he improved in other areas to raise his overall grade.

Because of Vitiello’s positioning and agility, Republic FC was the only team in the Championship that didn’t concede a goal from outside the penalty area in the 2025 campaign, while his handling improved to career-best levels with 33 catches and only one drop per Opta’s metrics. Vitiello also went a perfect 33-for-33 when called on as a sweeper, helping Republic FC produce one of its best defensive campaigns in club history.

No. 1 – Josh Cohen, Sacramento Republic FC (2018) - +12.98 G+

Josh Cohen put up arguably the all-time season by a USL Championship goalkeeper, and what did he get to show for it? An All-League Second Team selection, as current Canadian Men’s National Team goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau took Goalkeeper of the Year honors after setting a single-season record for shutouts in the same campaign for Ottawa Fury FC.

Cohen’s 2018 was a masterpiece in its own right, with 117 saves as he played every minute of the regular season, an average of 3.44 per game for a Sacramento side that finished second in the Western Conference. Cohen’s most striking number, though, was his -14.16 Goals Prevented mark in the campaign, which alongside his save percentage of 78.5 percent caught overseas attention. The following year, Cohen was acquired by Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Haifa, where he won the league title twice and competed in the UEFA Champions League before returning to the United States with Atlanta United.