George Maris struck late to earn Cambridge a 1-1 draw with Mansfield at Abbey Stadium.
Danny Rose's goal after 26 minutes looked to have proved decisive, coming when the U's were unable to clear a bouncing ball in their box, the ball then falling to Rose who slammed the ball home under David Forde.
With time running out, and moments after seeing a shot deflected just inches wide, Maris struck with two minutes remaining to prevent Cambridge from losing a fifth home game in a row.
He struck a thundering effort from the right edge of the box which took a nick off a defender and flew home via the far post.
It had looked like being a frustrating afternoon for the home side, who were repeatedly denied by Bobby Olejnik and twice by goal-line clearances from Ryan Sweeney.
Olejnik got down well to keep out Ade Azeez's powerful low shot 15 minutes from the end, but he was left with no chance when Maris popped up minutes from the end to smash in.
Mansfield were left to rue missed chances of their own, including Rose's acrobatic volley which skimmed the top of the bar.