Chicago House Athletic Club’s Amateur Cup adventure will continue as they defeated Midwest Premier League rival Czarni Jaslo 3-1 at Redmond Park in Bensenville, Illinois.

A fun contest throughout, Chicago took a two-goal lead into the break thanks to Nico Williams and Ricardo Avalos. Jaslo responded well, and they pulled one back midway through the second half after a goal from Paul Urban, but another House goal put the tie to bed.

What happened

(Quick note - there wasn’t a scoreboard with the time on it so I’m not sure when exactly anything happened.)

The first real effort came from the House. A bouncing ball teased Ricardo Avalos from distance, and he made clean contact on an audacious strike, but it was blocked by a nearby defender.

Chicago controlled proceedings, and Jack Kramer seemed to slip Nico WIlliams through on goal, but he was denied by a wonderful defensive challenge.

Jaslo were still playing well, to their credit, and they nearly jumped in front. A looping ball over the top was tipped by Austin Salazar, and the follow-up was barely blocked away for a corner.

Failing to convert there cost them, as the House opened the scoring soon after. Nico Williams received the ball on the edge of the penalty, and converted in convincing fashion, rifling a low shot into the back of the net.

It was nearly two later on. A Chicago free-kick was devilishly whipped into the box, but it somehow missed everyone at the far post.

They continued to pile on the pressure, and it looked like Williams was about to grab a second when a cross picked him out. However, his header flew wide of the frame. Avalos then dragged a volley inches off target.

It proved to be too much for the opposition to handle, as the House doubled their advantage through Avalos. His team’s first and second attempts were both denied, but his third effort proved to be the final one as he blasted the ball past a helpless goalkeeper on the rebound.

They carried that lead into the break, but it was Jaslo who flew out the blocks to start the second half. An initial shot was saved for a corner, and then the following set-piece bounced around for a while, but the eventual header went wide.

Things evolved into a back-and-forth affair. Jaslo sent bodies forward and had some opportunities, while Chicago tried to hit on the counter.

The next goal came soon after, and it was scored by the hosts. A botched corner kick routine from the House served up a counter attack on a platter, and the Jaslo #11 kept his composure, passing the ball past the goalkeeper.

They nearly equalized themselves, but instead it was the House who scored next. AR Smith timed his run to perfection, and he then found Eduardo Aguilera with a low pass for a simple tap-in.

Jaslo chucked in a few long balls late on, but they failed to find the goal that could’ve brought them back into the contest, which meant that the House held on to clinch the win.

What it means

Chicago advances to the next round of the Amateur Cup as a result of this victory, where they will take on the Milwaukee Torrent on the road next Tuesday.

That will be a special game for the House, as their first-ever game as a club happened in that same stadium.

Notes and observations

Bensenville is a prime amateur soccer location. It really feels like the middle of nowhere at times, and being next to a giant shipping container hub helps gives it a certain charm.

There were some new faces in the lineup for the House. I’m not sure if it was because of squad rotation or that they just wanted to try some guys out, but it was nice to see either way.

Matt Poland was wearing dark-colored pants and I did not like it. He looked evil compared to his usual lighter color scheme.

I know competitive spirit and whatnot but why the hell do guys get so upset playing soccer? Nothing had even happened early on in the contest and a Jaslo player snuck an elbow into the back of an opposing player. Just play soccer, man.

Nico Williams is fast as hell.

He’s also really developed as a striker. He always had that raw speed, and now he’s combining it with a real lethalness in front of goal. His opener was very well taken, and if he can keep converting at that level then the House will have a real threat in the final third.

Chicago are lucky that they’ve had AR Smith around for all this time. He’s stuck with the club ever since they dipped into amateur status, and he’s consistently shown up for them. The midfielder is certainly someone who could play at a higher level if he wanted to, but he’s more than happy to stick with the House. They should be very thankful for that.

Jaslo had a bit of a weird roster because of how many games that team has played recently, but they still had a few talented players that will hopefully turn out well for them.

Man of the match - Nico Williams

I wrote enough about Williams already, but the scorer of the opener was deserving of the man of the match award.

His well-taken effort put his side in front, driving forward with the ball before finding the back of the net with an excellent finish. He was then a nuisance for the remainder of the night, making run after run after run both up the middle and down the wing.

It was a hell of an effort from him, and hopefully Williams can keep the good times rolling next week.

Key quotes

Chicago House head coach Matt Poland - “We created a lot of dangerous chances. We didn’t take enough of those chances. We allowed it to get closer than it needed to be, especially at 2-1. The chances were there, we just weren’t clinical at times.”

“The biggest thing is trust what got you in the lead and focus on that. Reset, take a deep breath, and get back to play soccer. Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves when we don’t need to.”

“Winning must-win games is always a good thing. We did it with some different people in different positions, so there’s a certain level of resiliency that was good to see tonight.”

Chicago House forward Nico Williams - “I had missed a chance before, so I was already thinking that if we don’t get one soon it’ll be a long game. I got one off a backpass, and I just hit it and it went it. It set the tone for the game.”

“I’m just tryna build this confidence I’m having. It helps us as a team too, helps us play the brand of soccer we want to play. We want to keep the ball and make other teams chase it. Ultimately when we score goals, everyone’s happy.”

- Adnan Bašić