PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Megan Rodgers and Maddie Cleat each tallied a goal and an assist as California defeated Drexel, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in hot and humid weather on the Drexel campus. 

"I was concerned with the mental toughness of this being our third game of the week, and it was pretty hot today," head coach Shellie Onstead said. "We had acknowledged that we had a tough time in the third quarter in our last two games on the trip. I'm really proud of them because we dug in and did a really good job in the fourth quarter."

Rodgers got the Bears (3-6, 0-1) on the board in the first quarter before Drexel tied it in the second quarter. Cleat's goal early in the fourth proved to be the gamewinner. 

Rodgers' goal came on a fast break off of a corner to give the Bears a spark in the first quarter, but Drexel was able to tie the game in the second quarter on a penalty corner. 

By the end of the third quarter, between the heat and exhaustion, Onstead knew the final period wouldn't be played mistake-free, and she knew the winner of the game would be the team that handled the mistakes the best. 

The Bears capitalized on a scoring chance in the fourth quarter when Cleat hauled in a pass from Rodgers in the circle and slipped a shot past the goalie. 

Drexel wouldn't go away quietly, though. Cal was down a player after getting a green card, and the Dragons brought the offensive pressure. They forced a turnover at midfield to gain a strong scoring opportunity, but Megan Connors made a diving defensive save to prevent Drexel from tying the score. 

In the final minutes, Drexel pulled its goalie, putting Cal in the odd-player situation for the first time this season, but the Bears fended off the scoring opportunities and multiple penalty corners. Katrina Carter had a chance to ice game, but just missed by hitting the post. 

Nevertheless, Cal flew home taking two out of three on the road trip.

"We talked about how we'd be feeling right now if we had lost this game and went home going 1-2," Onstead said. "We all felt disappointed in our loss on Friday. It's a much different momentum, energy and belief now than if we had lost this one. We're excited to have a couple days to recover and come back home to face Syracuse."

Rodgers' and Cleat's goals were their third of the season, and they're tied with Carter now for the team lead. Rodgers is now tied for seventh in school history for career goals with Jennifer Crane (2004-07). Renee Chatas (1980-83) is sixth with 34. Rodgers' 71 career points puts her 10th all-time at Cal now, as well. 

Cal returns to Berkeley to face No. 19 Syracuse on Friday, Oct. 4, at 3 p.m. from Underhill Field.