With the dust still settling from Chicago House’s debut professional season in 2021 and a turbulent offseason in the National Independent Soccer League, a bigger, more uncomfortable question was asked.

What next?

After leaving NISA, American soccer legend Peter Wilt and Chicago House AC leadership announced that they were taking their competition to different pastures and joining the Midwest Premier League for the 2022 season. As one who has consistently had his finger on the pulse of American soccer, it would be an unenviable task to find someone who has a better scope.

The transition from NISA was partly a financial decision with debts incurred during their singular NISA campaign. So, sustainability was desired to keep the club in operation, as well as provide bedrock for the club to expand and root itself within the community.

With CHAC beginning their inaugural MWPL venture, the current Director of Team Relations and Communications Jenn Jamula received a call from Wilt asking if Jamula wanted to come back aboard after previously working for the club during their NISA season.

Jamula, who spent 17 years working for the Chicago Fire and before that, with the Milwaukee Wave (currently in the Major Arena Soccer League), had a knowledge of Bavarians and that was enough to convince her that the MWPL was a league that was serious.

“It didn’t prove me wrong,” she said about her instincts. “The quality is very good and consistent.”

Sporting wise, the 2022 season could be viewed by some as a success, finishing fourth in the MWPL Western Division. They managed to take it one step further in 2023 finishing third in the Heartland Conference, only behind legacy club RWB Adria and conference winning debutants, Czarni Jaslo.

“In the last 20 months we have been operating profitably and using the profits to whittle down our debt from 2021 and we see 2024 as having even further growth that will allow us to pay off more of those debts. None of that would be possible without the Midwest Premier League,” Wilt explained. The extensions CHAC have had, primarily the Women’s Team, U-23, Boys & Girls Academy and their Fustal operation was tabbed by Wilt as well as pillars that are helping House continue to regain its financial footing.

Wilt also credited the individuals inside the club with their effort and passion to make CHAC a success and a brand synonymous within their community. With over 20 people operating the club essentially pro-bono, the motivation to create CHAC in their vision is a labor of love, as is the case with most amateur domestic clubs. “A lot of ways we are an inch deep and a mile wide. We need to get deeper.” Wilt said. You can expect to see and expansion of younger aged academy teams, their futsal program and holding more camps to increase access to those who want it. Wilt confidently reiterated that he believes that all of this wouldn’t be possible without the MWPL. “It gives us the platform to do everything else. The vision of the Midwest Premier League is even better than the reality of what it is today.”

Wilt also went on to mention his desire to see the MWPL evolve into more than a high-quality amateur league where the playing season only lasts roughly 3 months out of the year:

Promotion/Relegation

“I believe Michigan is ready for it, and in the near future I think the Chicagoland area will be ready as well,” said Wilt. He believes it is important to grow the MWPL from its strong initial years in operation and solidify the league vision.

Women’s league

Wilt would like to see an MWPL Women’s league. There are multiple MWPL sides that current field a women’s side (House included) and not only would that bring the MWPL to the next level but giving accessibility to players looking for a club to develop strikes at the core of the league’s vision. “If we have to go outside, we will, but I think the values, structure and idea of the MWPL would work very well for a women’s league,” explained Wilt.

Fall Schedule

Wilt mentioned his desire to see a fall league enter the MWPL landscape. As the MWPL is a summer league, multiple clubs play fall seasons in other amateur leagues within the Midwest. “We tried for it this year and tried for it the year before, but we were not able to get enough teams.” Wilt is hoping that idea can become reality with the earlier efforts in hopes of 2024.

Onwards and Upwards

With the expansion to over 30 clubs for the 2023 season, the transformation of the MWPL is slowly revealing itself year-by-year. One challenge with that situation is that you have multiple clubs that have their own modus operandi, so incorporating different ambitions collectively to move the league froward will be a continuous task. “I think the MWPL is evolving to show that there are a couple different types of teams,” Wilt said. “I think House along several others represent one type of team that looks to establish a public brand and identity to build a community of support as a business and a community agent. There is another group of teams that are focused on the soccer, and just for a first team, that’s fine and valid. It can be very successful.”

It does not matter if House is now in the MWPL, the professional standards that were implemented in their NISA season have remained the same. CHAC Head Coach Matt Poland eluded, to how well the team received this organization mentality. With this approach, your traditional summer league training regimen is thrown out the window. Rather than training 2-3 days a week in the afternoon and games on the weekends, your workload ramps up to 5 days per week training in the morning. If you want to be viewed as a pro and want to be rated as such, the sacrifice must come from the player. But if you are still looking for a side gig while you are chasing your professional aspirations, House has multiple players offering their expertise to the youth teams that train in the evening.

“I was with the club when it was in NISA so we tried to keep a lot of aspects that keep the environment and the culture similar to when we were in NISA,” said Poland. “We try as much as possible to treat them like professional players.”

When The Cup Comes Calling

Poland says he experience with the MWPL has been great. The timing of the operation of the league is ideal for CHAC and they essentially have three seasons in a calendar year: spring US Open Cup training, MWPL league play and the late-summer autumn months present the final USOC play for the year.

“It’s been a great league and there are a lot of strong teams in the Chicagoland Area,” explained Poland. “It’s fun to see the league, as a whole, grow every year and make strides forward in that. There have been a lot of passionate people in charge of this league. You need people like (John Hall) and passionate organizations at more of a grassroots level.”

It is undeniable that after three years, certain clubs have established an identity. With Inter racking up trophies in the Great Lakes Conference and the Dekalb County United comedic internet presence, House has created their own. Their latest run in the USOC has proven to be the fruit bore from the roots of the very dedication that Poland and Wilt preach.

After making stops at Sporting Kristina in Sweden (2015, 2018) and Savsjo FF in Finland(2018), this year’s iteration of the USOC was a first time experience for Poland and the flavor of the action was anything but store brand.

“The first game of ours happened and there was a 92’ goal for a penalty to tie the game for us, we go into penalty kicks and our keeper saves two and scores the winning pk. After that game Peter Wilt said, ‘Weird things happen in the Open Cup’,” said Poland.

After downing Bavarian United a date was set with the well-known USL League One side, Forward Madison. But the professional standards held close by CHAC, justified their moment. When House went down 2-0 after half, Poland accepted the fact that being knocked out by professional side is nothing to be ashamed about. His job was to make sure his squad didn’t quit. Losing is fine, throwing in the towel is not. “You go in at halftime and come out, you let in another goal and you’re down 2-0 and we start to think ‘don’t let the game become a blowout,” Poland said. “Don’t let the guys quit and keep encouraging them. It’s a respectable to go out of the Open Cup, losing to a professional team 2-0.”

But Poland’s group had other plans. As the substitutes started entering for their shift, House began turning the dial closer to 11. After coming back from the two-goal deficit Poland was relishing in the moment, watching his group of professional minded amateurs refusing to bow to their more powerful foe. After going ahead in the 103’ on a A.R. Smith Jr goal, Poland had to remain even keeled to see the result through.

“In the moment I had to tell myself to stay present, stay focused and leave the other thoughts away,” Poland explained.

Because of a weather delay with their tie with Forward Madison, the draw was already completed, and they knew who the next opponent would be. Their reward was a date with none other than the legacy club, the Chicago Fire. “I remember having a moment with our captain AR (Smith) and it was just like are you kidding me? Little Chicago House is playing the Chicago Fire,” Poland shared. “It was an unreal moment. For one night, an MLS organization, a top tier team had to treat us as equals.”

That is the beauty of cup competitions. Remember back in 2021, Tottenham Hotspur trekked to little Marine AFC for the FA Cup? Videos filled the internet of residents filming Gareth Bale playing from their living room window. Albeit the gulf in talent for CHAC may not be that drastic, it further proves that cup competitions are truly a wildcard. But Cinderella stories must come to an end and a 26’ Kacper Pryzybylko was all it took to eliminate the upstart amateur outfit.

“I think a 3-0 loss and the fact that they brought on first team guys and starters whole played significant minutes in MLS shows that they respected us, and they didn’t want to take any chances of something going against them,” said Poland.

The match was not all one-way traffic as the scoreline suggests. Even in the 70th and 80th minute. CHAC was pouring on the pressure and consistently reminding the Fire that they were not going away, results be damned. The knowledge of who they are, what they are capable of and the outright passion for the game they sacrificed so much for, refused to let them stand down.

“It showed to the city of Chicago and all the fans that came out that there is a good soccer community,” said Poland. “There are good players in Chicago.

The conventional thinking would suggest an uncommon amateur cup run would lend itself to fine tuning preparations for this year’s USOC journey. But from what Poland experienced in the 2023 edition, he explained that his approach has not changed one iota.

“From my side of it not at all. Cups are great, you can go far in a cup. I remind the guys that we were down 1-0 in our first game last fall until we got a penalty. Our open cup run could have ended last year after one game,” he said. “It hasn’t really changed anything for me it’s just focusing on the next action and focusing on the next decision you have to make because you can’t think ahead. There is no ‘ahead’ because if you don’t do the job, any team can beat anyone on any given night.”

After a first-round bye in the House will be taking on UPSL side Wisloka Chicago on Saturday September 30th at 2pm at Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Tickets can be purchased HERE for $10 or $15 at the gate.