BELLINGHAM, WASH. -- Cal State LA's men's soccer team prevailed in another tight defensive battle against a Great Northwest Athletic Conference contender Thursday night in Washington.

Sergio Vega drew a foul in the box and converted the penalty kick with a little more than seven minutes remaining to lift No. 3 Cal State LA to a hard-fought 1-0 win over Western Washington.

After taking the lead, the Golden Eagles had to overcome some late drama as a second yellow card on Rene Cortez left them a man short for the final five minutes of the game. Cal State LA, though, was able to withstand some pressure from the Vikings to post their second shutout already this season. Cal State LA (2-0) stretched its unbeaten streak to 16 games dating back to last season.

Western Washington (1-1-1) suffered its first loss of the season despite a strong effort against the 2021 NCAA Division II champions.

Diego Bravo made three saves in goal for the Golden Eagles, including a huge stop midway through the second half when he denied a point-blank chance off a corner kick by Joar Tidblom. He also stood strong on a free kick from just outside the box that skipped off the top of the crossbar with five minutes left and Cal State LA was able to successfully manage the final five minutes while shorthanded for the shutout.

The winning sequence was set up by Vega, who was able to split a pair of defenders and dribbled into the box. He was tripped by one of the defenders, which resulted in the penalty kick. Vega knocked it in for his first goal of the season and the third of his Cal State LA career.

It marked the second straight game that Cal State LA broke a scoreless tie in the final 10 minutes with a penalty kick.

Cal State LA had a 13-12 advantage in shots, including a 7-4 advantage in the first half. Western Washington had a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Vega had a match-high four shots for the Golden Eagles, while Emil Kischka had three shots for the Golden Eagles and Luke Varav had two.

Cal State LA will return to action on Saturday with an afternoon match at Seattle Pacific.