Both goalkeepers - Liam Little (Caversham) and Mike Rae (Roslyn) - are tall characters, and almost filled the goalmouths, but shot takers Aajay Cunningham (two) and Seamus Ryder gave the custodians no chance with well-placed strikes.
Initially, Caversham launched its usual blitzkrieg, and penned Roslyn back into its own goal area with wide attacks and crosses.
Brett Clifford showed class on the wing, Callum Flaws exuded energy, and captain Ryder probed with tidy passing.
But with Tyrrell Barringer-Tairi in fine form at centreback, and James Watson and Cam Attwood repelling attacks, the onslaught lessened and Roslyn started to break out.
Fraser Cameron, Mike Sannum and Tom Connor forged forward, and despite a steady match by the experienced Mike Smith, Caversham was forced to defend deeper than coach Tim Horner would have liked.
After 22 minutes, referee Calvin Berg punished a rash tackle by awarding a spot kick, and Cunningham shot Roslyn into the lead.
Roslyn applied more pressure, with Geordie Mansford, Cunningham, Connor and Sannum firing shots on target that forced keeper Little into some decent saves.
Caversham weaved some penetrating patterns with good passing, but finishing was weak, and in fact there were few actual shots on target.
Another crowded Caversham goalmouth produced a handball incident that referee Berg blew up and, after 30 minutes, Cunningham calmly shot Roslyn into a 2-0 lead.
Mansford might have clinched the advantage but he shot wide from a handy position, then a couple of Roslyn corners had Caversham struggling.
In reply, Craig Ferguson made some darting runs, and Ryder also got past defenders with tricky turns. As halftime approached, a third penalty - possibly for ''high feet'' - was awarded, and Ryder provided an ice cool finish for a 2-1 scoreline at the break.
The second half was not for faint-hearted fans as both sides pushed forward and, but for poor finishing, either team could have scored.
A quick free kick by Mitchell Carter caught Roslyn out, and Flaws failed to contact from a handy position. Then a well-timed run and header by Sam Collier looped into the Roslyn net for a 2-2 scoreline with 11 minutes left.
Those 11 minutes were jammed with incidents. Roslyn's Damo Foster dived in when keeper Little spilled the ball, and one of the game's better shots was arrowed at Roslyn's goal by Ridden, but keeper Rae got all his body behind the ball.
Caversham coach Horner, who named Sam Collier his man of the match, was not disconsolate at the final whistle.
''Despite being two goals down, we did well to climb back into the game after a strong spell from Roslyn,'' Horner said.
Roslyn-Wakari coach Colin Thom praised his team's spirit.
''We have not played for two weeks, and did some soul searching, so I am pleased with our team's attitude. Fraser Cameron was our man of the match.''
So, Caversham preserved its unbeaten record, but University crept closer in second place after beating Mosgiel 2-0, and Dunedin Technical registered the same score over Green Island to join a logjam of five teams covered by four competition points in mid-table.
Northern notched its third win by beating Queenstown 3-2 in Central Otago.
