— The boffo attendance for a friendly against a venerable Mexican first-division club is hardly the tell-tale sign that everything is hunky-dory for the Carolina RailHawks at the outset of their new ownership regime.

Still, the crowd of 9,032 who saw the RailHawks host Toluca FC Saturday afternoon at WakeMed Soccer Park is an optimistic harbinger that the times are a changin’ in Cary.

By the same token, the result of a preseason exhibition against a top-flight Liga MX team in the midst of their regular season isn’t a final barometer for the RailHawks’ fortunes heading into their 2016 NASL campaign. A sharp, speedy Toluca squad dissected Carolina’s defense early, then held serve for a 3-0 win over the RailHawks to take the prolix “8th Annual Hilton Garden Inn Durham Southpoint Community Shield Match.”

Clearly the more technically proficient side, Toluca grabbed the advantage in the 13th minute. After a training ground free kick play, a Toluca shot was saved by diving RailHawks goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald. But Enrique Triverio gathered the rebound for Toluca and centered it to Gerardo Flores for an open putback and 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Toluca stayed on their front foot off another set piece when defender Gerardo Rodriguez fed Triverio charging unabated into the right side of the area. Triverio calmly settled and slotted the ball past Fitzgerald for a 2-0 lead that lasted until intermission.

Los Diablos Rojos added a goal for good measure in the 77th when a midfield turnover by Tiyi Shipalane triggered one of countless Toluca counterattacks. Edy Brambilla maneuvered around RailHawks midfielder James Marcelin, then placed his shot past Fitzgerald to account for the 3-0 final tally.

The RailHawks acquitted themselves better in the second half after the insertion of Shipalane and Billy Schuler. But promising shots by Austin da Luz and second-half subs Schuler and Aly Hassan were parried away by Toluca keeper Liborio Sanchez during the last throes of regulation.

RailHawks manager Colin Clarke chose to accentuate the positives.

“You look at the scoreline, 3-nil, maybe you’re disappointed,” Clarke said. “But I thought we played pretty well for long periods of the game. In the second half, their goalkeeper made several good saves to keep it blank. But for us, you can’t fall asleep on two set plays against a very good team without getting punished.”

Clarke specifically noted Brian Shriver’s workrate, Nazmi Albadawi’s distribution once he moved to central midfield for the second stanza, and the team’s overall defensive shape, particularly debut left back Paul Black.

The game attendance is a RailHawks’ home record, surpassing the 8,121 who saw Carolina host the LA Galaxy in May 2013.

The RailHawks open their 2016 regular season next Saturday, April 2 when they host Minnesota United FC at WakeMed Soccer Park.

“The important game for us is next week,” Clarke said. “We learned from this week … I thought we played well and gave a good account of ourselves against a very, very good team. We’ll take the positives, we’ll watch video, we’ll learn from it, and we’ll be better for it.”

BOX SCORE

CAR: Fitzgerald, Moses (Miller, 46’), Tobin (Mensing 80’), Beckie, Black, Marcelin, Perez (Shipalane, 46’), Albadawi (Watson, 86’), Ceballos (Schuler, 69’), Da Luz (Hassan, 80’), Shriver (Kelly, 86’)

TOLUCA: Sanchez, Flores (Rojas, 52’), Galindo, Perez, Rodriguez, Brambilla, Rios (Navarro, 81’), Velasco, Lobos (Arellano, 55’), Triverio (Saucedo, 62’), Esquivel

GOALS

CAR: ---

TOLUCA: Flores, 13’ (Triverio); Triverio, 15’(Rodríguez); Brambilla (77’)

CAUTIONS

CAR: Tobin (38’)

TOLUCA: ---

EJECTIONS

CAR: ---

TOLUCA: ---

ATTENDANCE: 9,032