The Oakland Roots battled back from an early deficit to earn a hard-fought draw against the Los Angeles Force in front of another record-setting sell-out crowd on Saturday night.

5,723 fans packed Laney College stadium to the rafters. They were whipped up and ready for the first kick after a pre-game musical appearance by Oakland rap artist Mistah FAB. However, an early mistake on the backline for the Roots led to a quick counter-attack goal from the Force that put the home team behind 1-0 in the 8th minute.

From there the Roots went on the attack looking for the equalizer. In the 18th minute, Salifu Jatta had a header attempt that was tipped above the crossbar by the Force keeper.

In the 34th minute, Ryan Masch found himself alone above the box with time to size up a long-distance shot. His powerful blast could only be deflected by the keeper and found its way into the back of the net to tie the match up 1-1.

The second half was a tight affair with both teams pressing for the winning strike but neither team having a clear chance to take the lead. When the final whistle blew the crowd cheered the Roots team making its final home game appearance of the fall NISA season.

Roots captain Benji Joya grabbed a microphone and addressed the large crowd to thank them. “On the field, off the field we see you, we appreciate you and hope that doesn’t end,” he said. “This is only the beginning guys.”

Oakland has one game remaining next Saturday when they travel to Flordia to take on Miami FC to end their fall campaign.

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Douglas Zimmerman curates the Beautiful Blog, which covers the ‘beautiful game’ of soccer in the Bay Area and around the world. He recently released a photo book documenting the fans of the World Cup that he started in 2002.

Follow on Twitter: @zimpix