OKLAHOMA CITY – Before the game, OKC Energy FC knew it was in for its biggest test of the season facing an undefeated San Antonio FC without captain and goalkeeper Cody Laurendi and injured striker Wojciech Wojcik.

By the end, Energy FC was disappointed it hadn’t handed San Antonio its first loss of the season.

“I’m disappointed,” said forward Andy Craven. “I’m upset. I feel like we should have won.”

As it was, Energy FC extended its home undefeated streak to five games as it played to a 0-0 draw at Taft Stadium against the second-place team in the USL Western Conference, continuing the side’s positive upturn in form over the past month.

Craven, who made his first USL start in place of Tuesday night’s hero Wojcik, came the closest to finding the breakthrough in his brightest appearance since re-joining the side in a trade last month. The forward almost found the decisive goal midway through the second half as a pass by Alex Dixon split the SAFC defense to pick out Craven’s angled run, but San Antonio goalkeeper Diego Restrepo did enough to smother the effort as he came off his line well.

“I’m disappointed to not have scored a goal tonight,” said Craven. “Had a good effort in the first half. I got a really good ball from Dixon in the second half, but [Restrepo] made some really good saves. You have to hand it to him.”

RELATED: Energy FC, San Antonio End Deadlocked

As strongly as Energy FC challenged San Antonio’s defense, which held firm for its seventh consecutive shutout, its own defensive effort was stellar in front of C.J. Cochran. There was only one major moment of nervousness for OKC down the stretch as Billy Forbes knifed into the left side of the penalty area but put his shot wide of the far post with four minutes to go, but the back four put in a solid all-around display to limit SAFC to only one shot on goal.

“I don’t know how many shots they had, it wasn’t that many,” said Cochran, who earned a shutout in his firm USL start this season. “The back four have been solid all year, so that wasn’t much of a surprise that was the case tonight.”

Energy FC next faces a big road trip ahead that sees OKC visit first the Colorado Rapids in the Fourth Round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night, and then swing its way through Cascadia for three games. With the side’s recent form, the chance to move into the Western Conference’s playoff positions could be waiting at the end of it.

“This is our eighth game where I think we’ve played well,” said Energy FC Head Coach Jimmy Nielsen. “I’ve been asking for consistency and this is the eighth game we’ve played well. I think we’re on the right track. Yes, it would have been nice to get the win tonight, but again, I think the performance was there. As long as the performance is there, we will always put ourselves in the situation to get three points.”