LA JOLLA, Calif. — Impacted by fatigue and slick conditions at UC San Diego’s Triton Soccer Stadium, the Hawaii soccer team brought something less than its best on Thursday night.

It was still enough to extend the top conference start to date for the Rainbow Wahine, who defeated the Tritons 1-0 in La Jolla, Calif., to move into sole possession of first in the Big West at the midpoint of league play.

What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii soccer team extended its program-best start to Big West play with a 1-0 victory at UC San Diego in La Jolla, Calif., on Thursday night

  • UH (5-0 BWC) won its program-best seventh straight match and sits atop the league table with 15 points after it passed idle UC Santa Barbara (4-0-1, 13 points)

  • Freshman Nalani Damacion put in her fifth game-winning goal from straightaway, just under the crossbar in the 26th minute, while goalkeeper Kennedy Justin recorded her fourth straight shutout

  • The Rainbow Wahine, who have nearly clinched a Big West tournament berth, travel to UC Irvine to play at 3 p.m. Hawaii time Sunday

Nalani Damacion’s banger from above the box in the 26th minute and goalkeeper Kennedy Justin's seven saves allowed UH (9-6, 5-0 BWC) to run its winning streak to seven, a new program single-season record.

Coming off a rousing breakthrough win over Cal State Fullerton on Sunday, there was plenty of room for a letdown against last-place UCSD (2-11-2, 0-5-1). Misty conditions blanketed the field.

“We were a little bit off tonight and they still found a way to close the door,” UH coach Michele Nagamine told Spectrum News in a postgame phone interview. “So I thought the defense was gritty, I thought they hung in there for each other. … They did what they had to do, and I’m proud of them.

“They just keep finding ways to impress me.”

UH, with 15 points, passed idle UC Santa Barbara (4-0-1, 13 points) atop the BWC table. The Wahine, who are already close to a lock to make the six-team Big West tournament, can start thinking about the possibility of hosting a tournament match or earning a first-round bye. Seed Nos. 3 and 4 get to host a first-round match, while No. 1 hosts the semifinals and final. Nos. 1 and 2 get a first-round bye.

UH is the first Big West team to begin league play 5-0 since 2010. It will put that mark on the line at another team that has historically had the edge in UC Irvine (4-6-3, 2-2-1) at 3 p.m. Hawaii time Sunday. UCI lost 1-0 at home to Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday.

The team, in a position it has never been, talked before Thursday’s contest about the privilege of experiencing the pressure of high-leverage matches.

“We’ve worked hard from last November until now. It’s not a fluke that they’re in the position that they are in, because we’ve been intentional about everything that we’ve done,” Nagamine said. “The kids are bought in, they’re focused and they’ve worked their butts off.”

They matched the program’s best overall winning streak of seven set from the end of the 1997 season through the first six matches of 1998.

UH’s four straight shutouts — all 1-0 wins — is one shy of matching another program record.

Damacion is already in the program top 10 for career game-winning goals with five. That is tied for eighth with Kelci Sumida, Taryn Fukuroku and Tricia Nishikawa.

“That is some pretty amazing company,” Nagamine said.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.