IOWA CITY, IA - No. 2 Duke didn't wait long to get on the scoreboard in Saturday's neutral-site game against California. The Blue Devils scored in the first two minutes before defeating the Golden Bears, 4-1, on the Iowa campus. 

Cal, which was playing its fourth consecutive top-15 ranked opponent, fell to 1-4 on the year, while Duke improved to 5-0. 

The Blue Devils earned a penalty corner in the game's early minutes and converted to take a 1-0 lead before scoring three times in the second quarter. 

"They got an early corner, scored on it, and every coach wants to start a game that way," head coach Shellie Onstead said. "I give them credit for converting. That really sets you off on the right foot. They got right on it, and that's when we kind of slid and had to fight back into it."

Natalie Dalton made six saves, including five in the first quarter. Combined with yesterday's effort against Iowa, Dalton garnered 20 saves for the weekend after notching a career-high 14 against the Hawkeyes on Friday. 

"Natalie has been amazing," Onstead said. "We're playing very good teams, so I would expect a lot of offensive pressure. One of the things we had to correct between yesterday and today was Natalie would make two saves, but we couldn't clear the ball away. We were getting out-muscled in front of the goal. That was a big point for me today, and it was better today. We didn't allow goals in that space in front of the goal. Their goals today came from further out towards the top of the circle."

Cal had to adjust today with Callie Rose Goodman out of the lineup due to injury. As a result, the Bears had to realign their lineup a little bit, and Onstead was pleased with the on-the-fly adjustments her squad made.

She credited the backfield - Yvie Lock, Femke Delissen, Brynn Zorilla and Jane Onners for their exceptional play.

"Yvie was steady offensively and defensively, and Femke played a solid game, stayed cool under a lot of pressure," Onstead said. "We had to roll players back in order to stabilize our defense. Yvie was really great at running forward and sparking the attack."

Onstead was also pleased with how the defense clamped down in the second half and shut the Blue Devils out in the third and fourth quarters. 

Megan Rodgers tallied her second goal of the season in the final minutes of regulation. Rodgers scored both her first two goals of the 2019 season this weekend. She successfully converted on a penalty stroke yesterday against Iowa. She and Maddie Cleat are tied for the team lead in goals (2) and points (5). 

The Bears return to the Bay Area next week to face No. 18 Stanford on Friday, Sept. 20, at 2:30 p.m. from The Farm. The game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Networks.