MATCH RECAP: Chicago House AC Gets Another Three Points At Home Versus Stumptown AC

CHICAGO, IL (November 13th, 2021) - Chicago House AC (7-2-8, 23pts) battled back against Stumptown AC (4-8-5, 20pts) to win 2-1 and extend their win streak to two. Both House goals were scored in the second half. Defender Rodolfo Sulia scored his first goal of the season and Wojciech Wójcik scored his seventh of the season to remain in the NISA golden boot race.

In the first half, Stumptown AC challenged the House defense early on, and in the 15th minute, Rhys Williams attacked the left side of the field, but House goalkeeper Michael Novotny stepped up big for the save.  In the 18th minute, Stumptown AC lost the ball, and Ian Cerro gathered it and passed it towards Derek Huffman, but Stumptown AC goalkeeper Kevin Gonzalez stood tall to make the save on his shot attempt. In the 25th minute, Stumptown AC had another opportunity to score in the box when Ismael Longo crossed the ball to Colin Stripling, who went in for the header, but Novotny came up with a highlight-reel save to tip the ball over the crossbar somehow. In the 34th minute, the House were on the counter when John Requejo, Jr. crossed the ball in the box for Anthony Bowie for the header, but Gonzalez quickly snapped the ball away. At halftime, the match was all even at 0-0.

Novotny came up with two big back-to-back saves in the 48th minute on Robert Hines and on Ismael Longo in the second half to keep the match scoreless. Matteo Kidd attacked the other end a few seconds later and went for a chip shot, but Gonzalez saved it. In the 53rd minute, the House had a corner kick, and Louis Bennett made an excellent cross to a wide-open Rodolfo Sulia, who headed his shot past Gonzalez to give the House the lead 1-0. Stumptown AC almost tied the match in the 64th minute, but Yuki Shibata's shot fell short and hit the post. Chicago House AC did have a few chances to extend their lead but couldn't convert. Stumptown AC would find an equalizer in the 79th minute when Jared Odenbeck found Colin Stripling in the box, and he redirected the ball into the top right corner of the net to tie the match 1-1. The House, however, would get the last word when defender Anthony Bowie took on three Stumptown AC defenders in the box and found Wojciech Wójcik, and he ripped his shot towards the back of the net to reclaim the lead at 2-1 in the 85th minute. The House managed to hang on for their second straight win at home and keep climbing the table to fourth place, with one more match to finish their inaugural season in NISA.

After the match, Head Coach and Technical Director, C.J. Brown shared how moving up the table is building up the morale and confidence of his players.

"It feels great," said Coach Brown. "That's what you play for, and when Peter Wilt hired me, he told me we got to be at the top. It's a lot to take in, but it's expected. We're happy, but we want to be at the top. We know we can't be much further than that, but we know we can end the season on a strong note playing good soccer and trying to get as many points as we possibly can. The other part is changing that goal differential, so hopefully, we change that a little bit as we go. The guys have been playing really well and are excited about what they're doing."

Chicago House AC goalkeeper, Mike Novotny gave insights on his performance and the team's response after giving up the equalizer in the 79th minute.

"I thought it was a big team performance," said Novotny. "After that goal, I think we responded really well. We keep the pressure on them well, and that's what you need to do when it comes to a team like Stumptown that loves to play. You press them as much as you can, when you can, in the right moments. I think we did at the right moment, and Woj found one and put it in the back of the net, and that was good."

Chicago House AC defender, Andrew Ribeiro expressed his thoughts on stepping up in David Abidor's place and how his teammates helped prepare him for this moment.

"I found out earlier in the week that if David wasn't there, then it was most likely going to be myself," said Ribeiro. "I think the three of us in the back have become very comfortable with switching between David or myself with Sulia. We both had confidence playing with him, and I was ready to go."

Chicago House AC forward, Wojciech Wójcik is looking forward to facing Omar Nuno and the Cal United Strikers FC to wrap up the 2021 NISA fall season in what should be a classic at SeatGeek Stadium.

"I'm not sure if there is any catching Nuno anymore, but we'll try," said Wójcik. "I'm not too concerned about winning that [NISA Golden Boot]. I'm more concerned about winning the game and how we prepare for it. You got two teams that are in form right now and will duke it out next weekend. It will be an excellent game for the fans to watch and for us to play in because there will be a lot of great soccer and two great soccer teams that want to win, so that will be exciting."

The House moved to 4th place in the 2021 NISA fall table, while Stumptown AC moved to 8th place. The House has now won six out of their last nine matches, while Stumptown AC hasn't won a match since September 25th.

On Saturday, November 20, the House returns to SeatGeek Stadium for their season finale to take on the Cal United Strikers FC at 7:30pm. 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:

• Chicago House AC defender Rodolfo Sulia scored his first goal for the House. Still, he is also second on the team in total minutes played(1,488) only behind fellow defender Anthony Bowie who leads the team with 1,529 minutes played for the 2021 NISA fall season.
• Chicago House AC forward Wojciech Wójcik leads the team with seven goals and is currently ranked 4th in the 2021 NISA fall season Golden Boot Race.
• Stumptown AC had five draws in their last seven matches, including a 3-0 loss to Detroit City FC on October 23 and tonight's 2-1 loss to Chicago House AC in the span.

Scoring Summary:

• CHAC - Sulia (Bennett) 53’
• SAC - Stripling (Odenbeck) 79’
• CHAC - Wojcik (Bowie) 86’

Misconduct Summary:

CHAC - Michael Kozielek (Yellow Card) 88’

Lineups/Substitutions:

​​Chicago House AC: Novotny (GK); Ribeiro, Sulia, Bowie, Requejo Jr.; Cerro (Morris 82'), Conner (C) (Kozielek 84'), Bennett (Kafari 89'), Kidd; Huffman (Bartman 68'), Wojcik

Subs: Serrano, Acosta, Bartman, Kafari, Kozielek, Morris, Thompson

Stumptown AC: Gonzalez (GK); Williams, Martinez (C), Nembhard, Hines; Bejarano (Kurtz 46'), Odenbeck, Longo (Legendre 90+'), Ward; Shibata (Forson 86'), Stripling

Subs: Davis, Legendre, Kurtz, Lovinger, Sharma, Forson

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.

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