PORTLAND, Ore. – Milton Palacios scored a late equalizer as San Antonio FC took a 1-1 draw against the Portland Timbers 2 at Merlo Field on Saturday night. T2 (5-6-2, 17pts) took the lead in the 16th minute as San Antonio suffered a piece of misfortune, as Carlos Alvarez redirected Jack Barmby’s corner kick for Portland into his own goal. San Antonio (2-5-5, 11pts) looked bright as they tried to answer, but Portland’s defense was solid and held the lead until the halftime break. Victor Arboleda almost added a second for T2 moments after coming on as a substitute, only to ring his shot off the crossbar, but after T2 had been reduced to 10 men following Kharlton Belmar’s red card, San Antonio grabbed a point as Palacios headed home Victor Araujo’s corner kick.

Scoring:
16’ – POR – Own Goal
87’ – SA – Milton Palacios (Victor Araujo)

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. Portland appeared to be on the verge of a third consecutive regular season win for the first time in its history, only for San Antonio’s late equalizer to deny them another big home win in their push up the Western Conference. The goal will have come as a disappointing conclusion to the game which had seen the T2 defense withstand some good spells of pressure, only to be unable to close out the win late on.

• 2. For San Antonio, the late equalizer by Milton Palacios will have come as a massive relief. SAFC arguably had done enough to get something on the road in this contest, only for a massive piece of misfortune on Carlos Alvarez’s own goal to put them behind early. When a side was struggling for goals as much as San Antonio is, a goal like Palacios’ will allow it to return home for a contest next weekend with a little more spring in its step.

• 3. T2 will need to rebound from the disappointment of Saturday’s result quickly, with a big game coming up on Tuesday evening against Cascadia rival Seattle Sounders FC 2. While the 1-1 draw will have felt like a let-down, Portland is still firmly in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race, and a win against its biggest rival would go a long way to solidifying that.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Milton Palacios, San Antonio FC – Palacios’ goal brought to an end a scoreless streak for San Antonio that had stretched over 400 minutes of action, and earned his side a point on the road that reflected a strong overall effort.

Upcoming Games:

Portland Timbers 2 vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2 – June 14, 7:30 p.m. ET, Providence Park

San Antonio FC vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC – June 18, 8:30 p.m. ET, Toyota Field