Chicago House Athletic Club’s quest for the Midwest Premier League Heartland Division 1 title hit a bump in the road as they lost 1-0 against RWB Adria at Loyola University’s Loyne Field.

Far from the most exciting contest when it came to chances and highlights, the lone goal came midway through the second half when a loose ball fell right to 6 for a simple tap-in.

Chicago pushed forward in search of a late equalizer, but ultimately fell short at the end.

Story of the match

The first chance came via a free-kick from distance. Jhon Alzate gave it a good go, but his effort was calmly saved by the goalkeeper.

Very little happened in the opening half hour. It looked like the House were about to have a big chance when Nico Williams broke free past the backline, but he was denied by a fantastic tackle from Antonio Razo Cortez.

Adria had their only big opportunity a bit before the break. A cross into the area found Zach Regert, but his header flew over the bar.

The away side were the better of the two to start the second half. Jesus Mendoza received the ball in some space on the edge of the area, and his attempt went wide of the frame.

Adria really easily could’ve jumped in front when a botched clearance fell right to Alejandro Legua. He bottled it, though, hitting his shot right at the keeper.

They didn’t rue that miss for long, as they opened the scoring minutes later. Some excellent work from Cortez led to a dangerous cross, and even though the own goal attempt was saved, Legua was on hand to poke home the rebound.

Another defensive miscue put Kevin Herrer through on goal, but the angle closed down on him, and he could only hit the woodwork with a powerful strike.

The House sent more and more men forward at the end, and they almost grabbed a tying goal right at the death. A corner was headed towards goal by their goalkeeper Tony Halterman, who had pushed up for the final kick of the game, but the next flick-on header went the wrong way, and the danger was eventually cleared.

What it means

While the House are still in the driver's seat in the Heartland Division, this result means that they can’t afford any more slip ups. Thankfully for them, a draw versus Bavarian United and wins in the rest of their games would still be enough to secure the title.

For RWB Adria, this win does still keep them alive in the race for the trophy, but they’ll need some help since they’re two points behind the House and five behind the Bavarians, although they have a game in hand over the latter.

Notes and observations and whatnot

The House did not play at their usual home venue of DePaul Prep, but instead held the match at Loyola University’s Loyne Field. It’s a nice venue as you’d expect since it’s used by a college team. There’s a stand and a press box and everything you need, although it is a shame the bleachers face the setting sun, which makes it tough for supporters to see the game.

It was interesting to see RWB Adria, a club with a very Croatian theme to it, not really feature any Croatians. Most of the players seemed to be Hispanic. Nothing wrong with that, of course, if anything it’s a positive reflection on American soccer.

Ok, I wrote that last paragraph near the start of the game, and by the end of it I may have learned why that was the case. A proper investigation needs to be done, of course, and it’s something to keep an eye on in the future, but according to murmurs around the stadium there’s a non-zero chance Adria fielded a team of unregistered players. Hopefully clarification comes out in the new few days.

I know it’s harsh to blame the officials at this level, but the main referee really lost control of this contest. He missed calls on both sides, failed to give certain players yellow cards, and then led to things getting more physical than they ever needed to be. Referees don’t have to be perfect, but they’ve got to be better than this.

While the first half was even, Adria did take control of proceedings in the second half. They made a number of substitutions, and they all worked out pretty well. The visitors were knocking the ball around pretty easily, which led to chances and mistakes from the opposition.

The House weren’t at their best, to be fair. Something was just a bit off going forward, and they lacked genuine threat, especially on the wings. The backline was solid, but they made a few errors late on, and one of those ended up costing them.

When it’s not too warm, a Chicago summer afternoon really is beautiful.

Man of the match - Antonio Razo Cortez

Sometimes you watch a player and you can quickly tell they’ve got a bit of quality to them. That’s what it was like seeing Antonio Razo Cortez on the night.

A stellar showing from left back, the Adria man was so silky on the ball. He knew when to dribble and where to go with the ball, and he knew when to pass it to a teammate. He made a big defensive stop in the first half, and he helped create the only goal of the game in the second half.

Cortez is quite the talent, and hopefully more eyes will be on him in the future.

Key quotes

Chicago House head coach Spencer Pappas -

“In a one goal game, it can go back and forth either way. We battled hard, but I don’t think we created enough in the final third to really capitalize and put this thing to be ahead. The 1-0 feels harsh, I would’ve been happy with a 0-0, but credit to Adria.”

“The ref isn’t the reason we lost this game. At the end of the day we talk about controlling the controllables, and the players did that, helping each other and staying focused and holding each other accountable. The guys let me deal with the other stuff and they focused on the football.”

“We were missing a couple of guys, and other guys stepped up. What will need to focus on going forward is holding each other accountable and playing to our standards. We gotta continue to play our game regardless of what’s going on during the game and controlling what we can control.”

- Adnan Bašić