MATCH RECAP: Chicago House AC Gets Revenge With A Win Versus LA Force

CHICAGO, IL (November 6th, 2021) - Chicago House AC (6-2-8, 20pts) came back from a goal down in the first half to upset the 2nd place National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) team, LAos Angeles Force Football Club (7-8-2) as the House claim a 2-1 victory, or Zwycięstwo in Polish, on Polish Heritage night at SeatGeek Stadium. Wojciech Wojcik scored his sixth goal to remain in the NISA Golden Boot race, and Ian Cerro scored the game-winning goal and his second of the season to seal the win for the House.

In the first half, the LA Force took an early lead in the 8th minute when Edson Alvarado played an excellent through ball to Samuel Goñi, and he was able to chip the ball over goalkeeper Mike Novotny to take the lead, 1-0. A few minutes later, in the 12th minute, the LA Force almost doubled their lead on a free kick opportunity, but Christian Chaney's header attempt went over the crossbar. In the 18th minute, Nazeem Bartman received a pass from Musa Morris, and he rifled his shot outside the 18-yard box, but goalkeeper Brandon Gomez was able to make the save. In the 35th minute, the House was on an attack, and Musa Morris took some LA Force defenders for a spin and ripped a shot, but it went wide to the left side of the net. In stoppage time, the House had another opportunity on a corner kick when Musa Morris crossed the ball towards Wojcik as he tried to go in for the header, but the shot went over the crossbar. At halftime, the House trailed 1-0 to the LA Force.

In the second half, the House almost got an equalizer in the 49th minute as Wojciech Wojcik got free for another header in the box, but the LA Force goalkeeper Brandon Gomez was able to punch the ball away from the far post. In the 52nd minute, the House finally broke through the LA Force defense when Derek Huffman set up Wojciech Wojcik with an excellent cross as Wojcik got afoot to tap the ball into the back of the net to tie the match 1-1. Wojcik almost got another goal in the 54th minute, but his shot sailed over the crossbar. In the 68th minute, the House committed a foul outside the box, setting up a free-kick opportunity for the LA Force. Christian Chaney took a shot from 25 yards as he tried to dip the ball towards goal; instead, it went over the net. In the 82nd minute, Drew Conner set up Matteo Kidd with a terrific pass, and Kidd tried to chip his shot, but Gomez stood tall for the save. The House finally broke the deadlock in the 89th minute when John Requejo, Jr. delivered a perfect pass to Derek Huffman as he attacked LA Force defender Christian on the left side of the field. Huffman was patient with the ball and saw Ian Cerro towards the box and delivered a great pass, and Cerro buried his shot to give the House a 2-1 win and accomplish their mission to avenge their earlier loss to the LA Force back on September 16.

After the match, Chicago House AC defender Rodolfo Sulia discussed how his team responded after giving up an early goal in the first half.

"It's a bad knock for us giving up an early goal, but that's the game," said Sulia. "We've got to keep our minds in the game, stick to our game plan, our tactics, and what we're doing. I feel everybody was concentrating on what their job is, and from there, it got good for us."

Head Coach and Technical Director, C.J. Brown shared insight about his halftime changes and how the players change in attitude made the difference in the second half.

"We have a lot of experienced guys on our team in that locker room," said Coach Brown. "We have this thing when you walk into the locker room at halftime; you don't say anything and sit there. It's easy to yell and go crazy, so we just let everybody sit and think about it. You can sense that the players were mad at themselves and felt this was the first time for me, the guys were looking at themselves instead of blaming each other. The guys weren't happy with the first half, and I think the subs were a big key for us and brought that energy. They came out the second half and proved it, showed it, and fought for what they wanted."

Wojciech Wojcik shared his thoughts on scoring a goal on Polish Heritage night with many Polish supporters in the stands.

"It was written in the stars, and it was a great night," said Wojcik. "There was no pressure, and all the people out there were there because they like being Polish, they like the game of soccer, and they like being together. One of the big things about this club that's special is we want to bring the community together. To score on a night like this on Polish Heritage night, that was special that I'll remember for the rest of my life."

Derek Huffman, who got two assists tonight, elaborated on developing chemistry with Wojcik throughout the season.

"We've been playing together for a while now," said Huffman. "We're both Chicago guys and played many games before, and I think this season goals aren't falling for me, but they're falling for him [Wojcik]. On the other end, assists are falling for me, and they are not falling for him. We both look at it as whoever puts the ball in the net wins games no matter who scores. As long as we keep getting up there and creating chances, that's all we can keep doing right now."

The House has moved to 6th place in the 2021 NISA fall table while the LA Force remains in 2nd place. The House has now won five out of their last eight matches recently, while for the LA Force, this is their first loss since September 25th when they lost 1-0 to the eventual 2021 NISA Fall Champions, Detroit City FC.

On Saturday, November 13, the House will be back at SeatGeek Stadium to take on Stumptown AC at 7:30 pm CST. Fans can purchase tickets by visiting www.chicagohouseac.com/tickets or tune in live by visiting www.chicagohouseac.com/watch-live. For team updates and information, please follow the team's social media pages on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, @ChicagoHouse_AC for live updates and fan reactions.

Match Statistics:

Match Notes:

• Wojciech Wojcik scored his sixth goal of the season and is three goals behind current NISA Golden Boot leader Omar Nuno for Cal United Strikers FC, who has nine goals.
• In this match, Derek Huffman got two assists and remains the club leading assist leader with three for the season and ranks third overall in league assist leaders behind Michigan Stars FC's Steven Juncaj and Chattanooga FC's James Kasak.
• Chicago House AC's record at SeatGeek Stadium is now 3-1-3

Scoring Summary

• Goñi (Alvarado) 8'
• Wojcik (Huffman) 52'
• Cerro (Huffman) 89'

Misconduct Summary:

• CHAC - Drew Conner (Yellow Card) 64'
• CHAC - David Abidor (Yellow Card) 66'
• LAF - Alvaro Madrigal-Zavala (Yellow Card) 85’
• LAF - Christopher Christian (Red Card) 90+'

Lineups/Substitutions:

Chicago House AC: Novotny (GK); Requejo, Jr., Abidor, Sulia, Bowie; Acosta (Kim 76’), Conner (C), Morris (Cerro 46’), Bartman (Kidd 46’); Huffman (Ribeiro 90+’), Wojcik (Bennett 85’)

• Subs: Barnes, Kidd, Cerro, Kim, Bennett, Ribeiro, Kafari

LA Force: Gomez (GK); Kashani (Padilla 68’), Christian, Klemm, Pablo Ocegueda; Villon (C), Alvarado, Barrera; Goñi, Chaney, Casillas (Madrigal-Zavala 68’)

• Subs: Cabrera, Padilla, Madrigal-Zavala, Hale, McLaughlin, Perez, Alewine

ABOUT Chicago House AC

Founded in 2020, Chicago House Athletic Club is a community-based professional soccer team that plays its home matches at the 20,000 capacity SeatGeek Stadium at 71st and Harlem in Bridgeview, Illinois. The team competes in the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA,) a U.S. Soccer sanctioned third division league. Led by Managing Partner, President & CEO Peter Wilt, Chicago House AC is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) committed to using its platform for social justice, diversity, equality, inclusion, and community improvement. The club's name is a tribute to House Music, which was created in Chicago in the early 1980's. Fans can help #BuildTheHouse by purchasing tickets at www.chicagohouseac.com/tickets or by calling our Ticket Sales Team at (312) 444-0976. For more information on Chicago House AC, please visit www.chicagohouseac.com and follow the club on social media @ChicagoHouse_AC. Our City, Our House.

ABOUT NISA

The National Independent Soccer Association was founded in 2017 with a mission to bring professional soccer to every city in the United States. A pro league member of U.S. Soccer, NISA focuses on a model based on meritocracy, independent clubs controlling their own league, clubs owning their intellectual property, all without the barrier of territorial rights. Sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation, NISA also runs the mid-summer pro-am Independent Cup tournament, the year-long amateur league NISA Nation, and NISA Media.

###