(CSULA Sports Information)

LOS ANGELES -- Cal State L.A.'s Dane Nielsen netted the golden goal in overtime to beat Sonoma State, 1-0, on Friday night in Los Angeles.  The The Golden Eagles extend their winning streak to six games, and all six wins have come by shutout and two of them have come in extra time.
 
Cal State L.A. (10-2, 6-1 CCAA) remains in second place in the CCAA with 18 points and stay three points behind first-place Cal Poly Pomona while Sonoma State falls to 7-6-1 (2-4-1 CCAA).

That was a tough loss," said SSU head coach Marcus Ziemer.  "We worked our butts off and they had to throw everything at us."
 
CSULA had a 22-5 shot advantage, including a 12-2 edge in the second half. The Golden Eagles also took all four shots in the overtime period before Nielsen's first goal of the season.

The game winner came after some good work by Jordan Payne resulted in a corner kick. Herbert Biste took the corner kick for the Golden Eagles and sent a dangerous ball into the box. Nielsen was able to elevate in a crowd and head the ball into the net, just past Sonoma State goalkeeper Sean Taufer.
 
Taufer made four saves, including a pair of nifty stops in the second half to thwart strong bids by Andre Bissmark and Halil Tozar.
 
Cal State L.A. had a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks, including a 6-0 edge in the second half and overtime.
 
Mike Beigarten made one save for the Golden Eagles to post his sixth straight shutout. Cal State L.A. lowered its goals against average to 0.33 and Beigarten's save percentage improved to .907.
 
After the game was sent into extra time, the Golden Eagles were able to keep up the pressure they generated for much of the second half. Troy Dumlao almost won it a few minutes before Nielsen's goal when he launched a shot that seemed destined for the upper corner of the net before tailing off just inches wide.
 
Cal State L.A. took full advantage of its next bid. With its defenders pushing toward the net, Nielsen, the team's lone returning defender, was able to nail the game-winner.

"They are very difficult to play against, especially on their small field," Ziemer said.  "They send a lot of balls forward and their attacking players are crafty and dangerous.  They also platoon sub 5 or 6 at a time so they stay fresh and put you under constant pressure. Credit to them, they are a good team."

Sonoma State will return to the pitch on Sunday at Cal State Dominguez Hills.  Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm.