House Advances To U.S.O.C Tournament Proper
Video courtesy of AttackMadCity
Chicago House has qualified for the second time in as many years for tournament proper for the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a fourth and final round 3-1 win over Valhalla F.C. in Milford, OH on Saturday.
House has become accustomed to playing on the road, having played four of their six qualifying matches in 2022 and 2023 away from home. Unlike most of those late fall matches, the conditions were ideal for a late November game. The sides kicked off at 3:00 PM local time under bright sunny conditions, and Valhalla was successful in controlling the pace of the game for the first 40 minutes.
“They came out tough, they came out physical and I think at times they tried to slow the game down. Fitness was an advantage to us, they wanted to slow the game down, get freekicks, get the ball out of bounds and reset. That’s how they wanted to play when they won the ball, they wanted to push forward quickly, direct with center backs that can play long balls. That's not a surprise in that sense, said head coach and technical director Matt Poland. “They played some really dangerous balls, especially in the first half. Add that to the sun at a terrible angle and balls in the air anything can happen. We got a few breaks with them missing a few headers. I don’t know if they got lost in the sun or what, but we were lucky they didn’t finish some opportunities they had in the first half,” Poland continued.
Valhalla, a member of the OVPL, was created with a stated singular goal of qualifying for the U.S. Open Cup tournament proper. They received a first-round bye, as did House, and notched a second-round win over the Chicago Strikers by a score of 2-1 and handed the Sahara Gunners F.C. crippling 10-1 defeat in Buffalo, NY in the third round to set-up their tilt with House. The home side moved one step closer to achieving their goal when they opened scoring in the 40th minute from a goal by Andre Novakovich. Novakovich intercepted a shot taken by Conner Clark from the top of the box and was able to finish the play directly in front of House goalkeeper, Tony Halterman.
From that point on, House woke up and took control for most of the match and were able to find the equalizer before the halftime whistle blew. Kikis Avalos played a ball from the left side into the box, leading to a scrum in front of the net that saw House take three shots on goal, the first two of which were saved by Valhalla goalkeeper, Ian McNamara, before Alejandro Mentasti scored in the 44th minute.
“Until they scored, we were lethargic and kind of were going through the motions. It didn’t look like how we train or how we usually play. That goal against us was actually a good thing because it woke us up and we responded well by getting the equalizer before the half,” said Poland. “At halftime it wasn’t that we, game strategy wise, needed to change things, we just needed to play like ourselves – play with the intensity, the faster tempo because every pass was at the same speed, every check to receive the ball was at the same speed. In the second half we started changing up that tempo, making it a little less predictable. You saw from the start of the second half we were a much different team. We controlled the first 25 minutes of the second half, we had all the momentum. From the 70th on they were able to get back in and slow the game down, committed a lot of fouls and after the play they took a long time to get up. We did well defensively not to give any chances in the second half, created a lot of chances and I think we were feeling pretty confident.”
House made their first substitutions in the 23rd minute, when Shannon Seymour went down with an injury. Replacing Seymour was Jhon Alzate, who was integral in changing the pace of the game and set-up House’s two late goals. With time winding down in the match, House earned a corner kick. Alzate took the corner and placed it in a perfect spot for Elias McCloud to head it in in the 89th minute.
With six minutes of anticipated stoppage time, House didn’t take their foot off the pedal looking for another goal to safely put the match away. They got that opportunity when Alzate suffered a hard foul just outside the top of the box leading to a freekick. Pau Mateo-Chacon took the freekick, directing the ball to the left of both Valhalla’s wall and keeper in the 94+ minute of play, securing the victory for House.
“In a game like this, you can find moments where every player had actions that were beneficial to the overall success. When we went down to respond offensively is important, but in the second half defensively those guys didn’t allow anything, the subs came on and continued to keep up the energy,” said Poland. “Alzate had to come on early and had a big impact on the change in tempo of the game and delivered a great corner kick and he was the one that got fouled to give Pau’s freekick. You can also point to the veterans whose calmness was key. We went down a goal and we didn’t freak out; we didn’t lose focus on our game plan and our self-belief, so I think all of those things are important. When the score is 1-1, you can get tight, but the guys just continue to focus on the next action.”
Chicago House heads into another shortened off season, as the U.S.O.C. tournament proper first round will be played between March 19-21, 2024 and hope to build on the success found in 2023 when they advanced further than all, but one other amateur team in the nation. House and Tulsa Athletic both made it to the third round where they faced MLS sides (Chicago Fire for House and Sporting KC for Tulsa).
“To qualify two years in a row says a lot about the organization as a whole. We took one photo of the guys who’ve been here for both Open Cup qualifying seasons and there were only seven guys that were here last year and this year. I think that’s such a testament to the culture of our team. The players change – we’ve had so many players come through over the last few seasons, so the person wearing the jersey changes but the representation of the crest and of that jersey stays the same. That’s an incredible achievement for the whole organization,” said Poland on the importance of House’s continued success in the historic tournament.