The Milwaukee Torrent advanced to the next round of the USASA Amateur Cup in some style, defeating Chicago House AC 6-1 at Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

Things got off to an electric start, with both teams scoring in the opening few minutes. After that it was all Milwaukee, though, as they then grabbed five unanswered goals in a row. They were the better team on the afternoon, and their job only got easier when the House went down a man in the second half.

Story of the match

The scoring was opening quite early, with Milwaukee jumping in front after just eight minutes. A free-kick whipped into the area wasn’t dealt with properly, and the ball ended up flying to Angel Gongora, who stylishly flicked-in into the back of the net.

Chicago responded perfectly, tying things up minutes later. Nico Williams snuck in behind the backline, and he made the most of the chance, sneaking the ball past the goalkeeper.

The first half flew by, and it was a real back-and-forth affair with both teams driving forward when they could.

The Torrent re-established their lead through Samuel Abreu, who volleyed home a superb cross hit towards the backpost.

It was 3-1 soon after. Gongora picked the ball up in space and decided to have a go. It’s a good thing he did, as his strike flew into the side netting past the outstretched arms of a helpless goalkeeper.

Ricardo Avalos came close with a free-kick, and he had another shot before the half, but neither effort ended up in a goal..

The Torrent sealed the result early on in the second half. A botched clearance fell to Gabe Voung, and he pounced on it, settling the ball on his chest before blasting a volley into the bottom corner.

Just when Chicago were finally starting to create some chances again, they saw themselves go down a man. Eduardo Aguilera made a mess of a tackle, coming in late and high on the opposition. It wasn’t an intentionally evil challenge, but it was a deserved red card.

At that point the contest was all but over, although there were a few more highlights.

House goalkeeper Austin Salazar gave away a penalty after taking out the opposing forward, but he made up for that error by saving the resulting spot-kick.

The Torrent added two more goals late on, as Zakaria Daaou converted on the counter attack before Pack Piscaglia found the back of the net with a lovely header.

That was all she wrote, with Milwaukee capping off a dominant display in style.

What it means

As mentioned earlier, Milwaukee advances to the next round of the USASA Amateur Cup following this win.

I’m not sure the technical terms that the tourney uses, but long story short they move on to the regional semifinal, with all four of the regional winners set to meet in the summer. It’s like they’re in the round of 16.

Notes and takeaways

Waukesha is really pretty. I know it’s a standard middle-of-nowhere city in Wisconsin, but it has plenty of natural beauty and open skies.

More lower-level teams should utilize high school stadiums. Turf fields aren’t great but at least they’re held to a certain standard, plus there are always bleachers for supporters and a press box for writers and team staff.

It was a shame that the House couldn’t return to Hart Park, which is where their first-ever game took place. It would’ve been a lovely return, but maybe it’s for the best that they couldn’t get blown out there.

That Milwaukee team is good. I’ve not watched any NPSL so I wasn’t sure what to expect from them, but they were moving the ball around with confidence, both in terms of their passing and their dribbling. They were also clinical in the final third, and when a team is doing all that, you usually get a blowout scoreline.

Zakaria Daaou is one to keep an eye out for. The Torrent left-back just seemed like he was on a bit of a higher level than everyone else technically, and it was nice to see him cap off his strong showing with a goal.

Chicago, meanwhile, were not at their best. There were too many holes defensively, and they lost the ball several times in midfield when they didn’t really need to. It was a rough day at the office, and they’ll have to make sure they learn from this.

It’ll be interesting to see what the House does going forward in the future. Nico Williams got the nod up top, and he did grab a nice goal. Alejandro Mentasti came on to make it a front two, and even though he didn’t make too much of an impact, he’s shown that he can be the leading man in the past. Does head coach Matt Poland try them as a pairing more in the next few weeks, or will he leave them to fight for one single spot? Only time will tell.

Man of the match - Angel Gongora

Angel Gongora? More like Angel Goal-gora, am I right?

My bad.

Stupid jokes aside, Gongora’s early goals proved to be crucial in giving Milwaukee an early lead they could build upon. Both of his efforts were impressive in different ways.

The first game via a cheeky little flick, which allowed him to redirect the ball into the back of the net. The second was much simpler, as he made the most of the space he had on the top of the box by ripping a shot that flew into the side-netting.

He wasn’t able to complete his hat-trick thanks to the penalty save in the second half, but that won’t bother the Torrent man too much.

“I don’t usually score. It feels amazing. We know Chicago House is a pretty good team, and we came out strong. I don’t usually shoot with my left, it was a little lucky (the second goal). I did the Kroos touch and just banged it in. I kinda blacked out, I don't really remember it,” said Gongora post-match. “We’re just getting started, and we’re already looking so good. I’m really excited for the upcoming season.

Key quotes

Milwaukee Torrent head coach Jeff Pill -

“We’re starting to trust and believe in each other. We have confidence in how we’re trying to play, and I was really impressed with how they kept their composure during the game. We rolled right with it.”

“We focus on what we can control. We can’t control the referee, or the weather, or the quality of the pitch. We just get on with work. It’s a game of mistakes. You can never play a perfect game, so it’s about limiting the amount of mistakes you make.”

“I’m psyched how they’re buying into playing together. There’s a good culture, they train hard, they’re focused. To be honest it’s hard to pick a roster because it’s so deep. Who would’ve thought we’d be winning these games like this this early?”

Chicago House head coach Matt Poland -

“I don’t think just one thing went wrong. Overall we came out complacent, and when there’s challenges, it’s more important to be focused and dialed-in. We weren’t focused, and it led to early mistakes, and we never recovered. We didn’t showcase what the House represents. We didn’t stick to our gameplan.”

In winning and losing the most important thing is learning lessons for the next game. We can’t be in our feelings too long because we have a game Saturday, so once we get back to training we have to focus on that game. That’s the only saving grace, that we have another game to focus on now.”

- Adnan Bašić