IOWA CITY, IA - California hung in with its third-straight ranked opponent, but No. 7 Iowa defeated the Golden Bears, 4-2, Friday afternoon on the Hawkeyes' campus. 

The Bears fell to 1-3 on the year, while Iowa improved to 4-1.

Natalie Dalton made 14 saves, a career best, surpassing her previous personal best of 11 that she recorded last season. 

Cal is navigating through tough waters right now with today's game the third of seven consecutive matchups against ranked foes. Head coach Shellie Onstead believes her team is rising to the challenge and improving with each game. 

"They're still playing well and we're playing very good teams," Onstead said. "We've progressed since last Sunday against Michigan, and it came down to a few key moments that turned into goals for them. There have been fewer mistakes, so that's easier to clean up."

After a scoreless first quarter, Iowa opened the scoring with just 90 seconds left before halftime. 

The Hawkeyes may have felt like they would be taking the lead into the halftime break, but Cal had other ideas as Mathison scored in the final seconds of the second quarter to tie the contest at one. Maddie Cleat was credited with an assist on the goal, good for her team-leading fifth point of the season. 

"That was great to go into halftime with that," Onstead said. "They reviewed it, but we were sure she scored it with plenty of time. We got the call when we were already on our break so that pumped us up. Since they had to review it, we got a longer halftime than usual, so it was good to get more time for recovery. That was key."

The Bears were able to carry that momentum into the third quarter when Rodgers drew a penalty stroke, and successfully converted for her first goal of the 2019 season. Cal took a 2-1 lead at that point. 

The lead was short-lived, though, as Iowa tied the game just two minutes later, and took the lead in the final seconds of the third quarter. The Hawkeyes made it a two-goal game later in the fourth quarter. 

The Bears need to put today's game behind them because a matchup with No. 2 Duke awaits them tomorrow. Cal and the Blue Devils meet at noon PT tomorrow from Iowa City, Iowa. 

"It's a good lesson in focusing on the next thing," Onstead said. "We'll look at film and we're looking forward to getting back on the field tomorrow. This will be valuable later in the year when we have to play back-to-back again."