WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Trailing, 1-0, halfway through the fourth quarter, California scored back-to-back goals in a matter of seconds to sneak past New Hampshire, 2-1, in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament Thursday morning on the Monmouth campus. 

The Golden Bears improved to 8-10 on the season, and this victory marks the first time since 2016 that Cal will advance in the America East tournament. 

"It was an interesting build," head coach Shellie Onstead said. "In the first quarter, it seemed like both teams were being a little bit conservative, feeling each other out. In the second and third quarters, it was more typical with possession changes and adjustments from both teams. As soon as we got the first one, the energy completely shifted. We immediately got the second goal, and we came really close to getting a third. We did a good job of keeping them on their back foot and staying poised in the final minutes. I'm really happy with the whole group."

Just over a minute into the second quarter, New Hampshire was able to come up with a breakaway opportunity, and the Wildcat slapped a shot past Cal goalie Cato Knipping. That was the only blemish on the true freshman's scoresheet. Knipping played all 60 minutes, collecting two saves. 

The score remained 1-0 until halfway through the fourth quarter. 

After securing a penalty corner, Femke Delissen made a late audible on the play call which allowed Lindsay Mathison to score, evening the game at one. Seconds later, Megan Rodgers gave the Bears the lead for good on a shot that was deflected over the goalkeeper. Mathison earned the assist on the game-winning goal to give her three points on the day. 

"One of my points to the team during pregame was that we have been preparing for this all year," Onstead said. "All of these little pieces had been put in place, and it was deliberate. It started the day after we lost last year [in the conference tournament]. The staff got together and we asked ourselves, 'How are we going to be better a year from now?' We really stayed the course. That's not always apparent to the players, but I was confident that today was the day to tell them that they were ready."

The Bears play tournament host and No. 20 Monmouth in Friday's semifinals at 8 a.m.

With a smile, Onstead wanted to add her apologies to Valentina Godfrid that she will now be unable to attend the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame banquet Friday night when Godfrid will be inducted.