Chicago House Athletic Club’s U.S. Open Cup dream is still alive after they defeated Wisloka Chicao 2-1 at Redmond Park on Saturday night in a 3rd round qualifying match.

An entertaining affair throughout, the hosts and the underdogs were the ones to open the scoring in the first half through

Story of the match

The House had a big chance early, as Alzate burst through midfield and was picked out by an excellent pass. His cut inside was clever, but his strike flew way over.

It was an even opening to proceedings. The House had more of the ball, but Wisloka seemed like more of a threat thanks to their long balls.

The first goal came at the half-hour mark. A loose ball in the air was brought down by a strong Wojciech Wojcik, and from that point it was all too easy as he slammed a volley into the back of the net.

It very easily could’ve been 1-1 moments later, as House captain AR Smith was seemingly taken out in the area. However, no penalty was given, so either the referee made a mistake or everyone in the crowd saw things wrong.

Both sides had massive chances before the break. First the House saw Kiki Avalos denied from close range at the back post, and then Wojcik went wide when he tried to volley home a set-piece.

The House came out flying to start the second half, and some wonderful play led to an equalizer. A few passes around the left wing got the ball to Avalos, and his dink into the box was settled by AR Smith, who finished the move off like usual.

They started to control possession, while Wisloka was happy to sit back and hit on the counter, holding on thanks to some big saves from keeper Dominik Pietuch.

However, the dam would eventually break, and it did so in stoppage time. Avalos broke free, and his finish just managed to squeeze past the onrushing goalkeeper and over the line to steal a victory at the end.

What it means

The House advances to the final round of US Open Cup qualifying, and they’ll travel to Oklahoma to take on Tulsa Athletic.

Notes and observations

Redmond Park is much more of a park than an actual soccer venue. The only seats are bleachers, and they’re only on one side. There’s no real press box, and I’m not sure I even saw locker rooms nearby.

Then again, it’s still a lovely place to watch a game. It’s an open area, and the forest backdrop is unique as it is pretty. It feels like you’re watching some random small town European team.

To be fair, Wisloka is pretty much one of those already. They’ve done an excellent job on capitalizing on their Polish heritage. The stands were packed, and there was a lovely atmosphere on the afternoon, complete with a dude cooking up sausages that were on sale en masse.

It was nice to see Wojciech Wojcik again. The House will always have a soft spot for their former NISA players, and to his credit he looks about the same as he did in 2021. Hopefully the injury that forced him off isn’t too bad.

Dominik Pietuch was excellent in the Wisloka goal, and this sort of performance could be a real springboard for his career. He’s got quick reactions, and his positioning helps him be at the right place at the right time.

The House had a few new names on the field, like Achara Ugochukwu and Gilberto Angeles. They didn’t look out of place at all, which is a testament to the club’s player development program.

Another shining example of that is Daniel LaCost. On a personal note, I had him added on Instagram years ago when he was simply a young squad player who never saw the field. Now he’s become a hallmark of the backline, and his big boy performances are the reason why.

Man of the match - Kiki Avalos

Kiki Avalos has been a consistent threat for the House for a while now, and he was in fine form here.

Picking up a goal and an assist when all was said and done, the winger showcased his technical ability on it and his intelligence off it. He set up the opener with a lovely chipped pass into the area, and he finished off the second one with a smart strike that was enough to beat the goalkeeper.

It’s unclear where the House would be without Avalos. What is clear is where they’re going with him, and that’s to the final round of Open Cup qualifying.

Key quotes

Chicago House head coach Shannon Seymour:

“The halftime talk was about how we don’t have to get it done right away. I told them we’ve been in this spot before and we’ve overcome challenges. This is the Open Cup. The boys know they didn’t play well enough in the first half, and this was a game that was one based on heart and desire.”

“The new guys came in and were impactful. The new faces build on a team that was already strong.e There was a sense of urgency at the end, but it wasn’t frantic. In the first half we were kind of frantic, but we stayed calm and found Kiki, and he did the rest.”

“We pride ourselves on our defense first. We know what the boysare capable of in the attack, so defensively we just had to make sure we locked in and didn’t give up any silly chances. We went into the second half thinking we needed a clean sheet, and that was the spark.”

“We gotta make sure the boys know the job’s not done. We said we had a flight to catch, and now we’re headed to Tulsa. We got to make sure we’re on the same page, and it’ll get tricky with the holidays but they’ve got to maintain fitness and find interesting ways to move forward. We got another 90 to play, and we got to finish what we started.”

Chicago House forward Nico Williams:

“I can’t even tell you what happened at the end. We worked hard, we built up well, and we wanted it more than them. We took advantage of what they gave us, and their keeper made great saves, but in the end we made it work.”

“We need to play with confidence and have confidence in each other and work hard for each other. We weren’t getting to loose balls and they were beating us to everything, so we told each other we needed to play with more balls. Show you want to be on this field and show you deserve to be on the field, and honor the badge.”

“We have to play Chicago House soccer. Play through the crest, and it will lead us through the game.”

- Adnan Bašić