SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio FC and Tulsa Roughnecks FC played to a 1-1 at Toyota Field on Saturday afternoon in a preseason exhibition that saw a crowd estimated at 3,400 fans on hand at Toyota Field. Goals from San Antonio’s Billy Forbes and Tulsa’s Jaime Ayala left the sides level as preparations continued toward the 2017 USL season.

“I thought the guys played some very good soccer,” SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell said. “The fans got behind us and I think it’s exciting times ahead.”

Forbes opened the scoring in the 24th minute when he scored from the top of the penalty area with the help of a small deflection. The goal was Forbes’ first in the club’s 2017 preseason campaign.

“It feels good to be back on the field,” Forbes said. “It feels good to be playing again. It wasn’t our best performance but it’s getting there. I think we’re going to learn from this game. It’s a preseason game and we expect it to be like that, but hopefully in two weeks we’ll be a little bit sharper.”

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Tulsa found an equalizer just six minutes later when midfielder Jaime Ayala slipped a header past SAFC goalkeeper Matt Cardone following a set piece by Juan Pablo Caffa for the Roughnecks. 

SAFC midfielder Rafa Castillo was shown a red card in the 50th minute following an altercation with a Tulsa player. The ejection was the Alamo City club’s first this preseason. A total of four other players were shown yellow cards during the match.

Both teams created dangerous chances thereafter, but neither could find the winning goal, with both SAFC goalkeeper Matt Cardone and Roughnecks goalkeeper Bryan Byers making good saves in the second half to keep the game even. 

"It was very important to play another high-level team in a great stadium with a great atmosphere," said Roughnecks Head Coach David Vaudreuil. "I expect the two teams to have a great rivalry this season, and I look forward to playing them again in the regular season."