El Salvador and Ecuador play to 1-1 draw at PNC Stadium

PNC Stadium opened its doors to more than 10,000 spectators on Saturday as the venue hosted its final game of the year, a 1-1 draw between El Salvador and Ecuador.  

Ecuador took the lead in the seventh minute following a corner kick from Freddy Mina that found Michael Carcelen in the heart of the box. The Barcelona SC Guayaquil midfielder headed the ball to the far post past the fingertips of El Salvador goalkeeper Tomas Romero. 

El Salvador equalized in the 44th minute with a long-range free kick from Rómulo Villalobos. El Salvador was awarded the free kick after a foul five yards outside of the penalty area and Villalobos sent the predominantly El Salvador crowd into a frenzy with his long-range effort.  

Jairo Henríquez nearly scored the go-ahead goal for El Salvador in the final seconds of the first half with an effort from the edge of the box that was saved by Hernan Galindez.  

Jose Cifuentes was inches away from scoring for Ecuador in the 53rd minute, but his last touch conceded the ball to Romero.  

El Salvador found themselves in a similar position 10 minutes later after Eric Calvillo dribbled into the box and lost control near the end line.