COLORADO SPRINGS -- Cal State LA's men's soccer team turned in a fantastic performance Saturday and will bring home the first national championship trophy in program history.

Using a formula that has been so successful during the amazing tenure of head coach Chris Chamides, the Golden Eagles scored an early goal and then stifled a potent Charleston (W.V.) offense to post a 1-0 victory at Weidner Field. Cal State LA (18-2-3) finished the season riding an 18-game unbeaten streak and completed a sweep of four championships -- California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season, CCAA Tournament, Super Region 4 and, most importantly, NCAA Division II.

Cal State LA was making its third appearance in a national championship game and its second straight. The third time was the charm as the Golden Eagles turned in a near-flawless performance to dethrone Charleston, which had beaten Cal State LA, 2-0, in the 2019 championship game and was seeking its third national title in the past four seasons.

The result tipped a different way on Saturday for everyone except Cal State LA goalkeeper Alvaro Unanua, who won his second straight national title. He was Charleston's goalkeeper in 2019 before transferring to Cal State LA. He was spectacular once again on Saturday, just two days after making three incredible saves in a penalty shootout that enabled the Golden Eagles to reach the championship match after a 0-0 tie against Nova Southeastern.

The lone goal on Saturday was a thing of beauty and a stunning quick strike started by one of Cal State's captains. David Elizaga gained possession of the ball near midfield, broke free from Charleston defenders and sent a nice pass to Carl Solli, who was racing down the middle of the field. After receiving a perfect pass, Solli quickly touched the ball over to Simon Johansen, who one-timed the ball from point-blank range into the goal in the 21st minute. 

"Coach and I were talking about that before the game, that back post run, I do that all the time," Johansen said. "Fortunately, that came at the right moment. When the ball comes across, and I see the goal open, it was just one touch and all the feelings came through. It was an amazing feeling."

It was a heroic performance from Elizaga, who pulled his hamstring early in Thursday's game and wasn't sure he would play Saturday. Thanks to Elizaga's determination and the outstanding work of head athletic trainer/associate athletic director for sports medicine Jennifer Lupo-Northrup,who was certainly busy this week trying to keep the team healthy, the Golden Eagles' leading scorer did indeed play on Saturday and was instrumental in the winning goal.

"When I got the ball, I was trying to get out of their two players. The moment I saw Carl running in behind, I just passed it to him," Elizaga said. "Carl is an amazing player and an amazing person and a very smart player and he made the perfect choice and it was a tap-in for Simon. It was a good combination and a good goal."

Of course, the Golden Eagles, featuring a defense that ranked No. 2 in the nation with a goals against average of 0.540, still had the matter of blanking the powerful Charleston offense for another 69 minutes. Charleston finished the season ranked No. 3 offensively in the nation, averaging more than three goals a game.

"I was extremely happy (we scored, but also telling the guys, 'let's keep going, don't get too happy; there was still so much time on the clock and we had the whole game ahead of us," Senior Morten Bjoershol said.

While the possession and the shot totals favored Charleston, Cal State LA's defense did such a fantastic job of making those shots heavily contested, the West Virginia Golden Eagles wound up facing a shutout defeat for only the second time all season. Of the 22 shots credited to Charleston, only four were on frame and Unanua was there each time to make the save.

Cal State LA posted its third straight shutout and its 13th of the season.

Bjoershol, Gonzalo Talavera and freshman Carl Olsen were phenomenal on the back line and depth was also a big factor in the win. The Golden Eagles had 22 players see action in the contest and all made contributions to the championship victory.

Cal State LA's national championship was the eighth in school history and the first since 1981. The Golden Eagles also became the first team from the West Region to win a national title in men's soccer since 2008.

Johansen was named the tournament's Offensive Most Outstanding Player and Talavera was named the Defensive Most Outstanding Player. They were joined on the All-Tournament team by Unanua, Solli, who made it for the second time, and Gerard Hernando.