They spent most of the first half on the attack, rolling over Aldershot and turning the clash of the sides third from top and third from bottom on its head.
Aldershot centre-back Ricky Newman was panicked into heading past his own goalkeeper in the 28th minute, before, 11 minutes later, exciting young striker Liam Marum hit a spectacular goal to put Cambridge fully and deservedly in control.
The dominance was such that an Aldershot side who had hammered 20 goals in ten games were unable to conjure a single shot of any menace in the first 45 minutes.
"Still on the bus" is a phrase usually used about a sluggish start and it applied literally to the visitors who had a tortuous trip due to motorway problems, which pushed the kick-off time back 15 minutes.
Unfortunately it took them far too long to play their way into the game and when they did, Cambridge goalkeeper Paul Crichton made a series of saves early in the second half to block the possible revival.
Joel Grant was the man who gave the Aldershot fans some hope but when he hit the target in the 46th and 64th minutes Crichton saved low down on the first occasion and then pushed the ball away for a corner.
After the U's 'keeper had made his vital saves it seemed to drain the spirit out of the visitors and their attempted fightback lasted no longer than about 20 minutes of the second period.
Having held out Cambridge regained control and were close to a more emphatic victory when David Bridges rammed a shot into Nikki Bull's gloves in the 68th minute, before Marcus Richardson and Courtney Pitt squandered good late chances.