HOUSE WOMEN JOIN WPSL FOR 2024 SEASON
Chicago, Illinois (November 16, 2023) – The Women’s Premier Soccer League announced today that Chicago House AC’s application has been accepted and House will join the WPSL for the 2024 season. After launching its women’s program playing an independent schedule of eight matches in 2023, the club applied for entry into America’s oldest and the world’s largest women’s soccer league with 130 teams in 2023.
“We are thrilled to join WPSL,” said House women’s program director Jason Almazan. “This is an opportunity to provide high level playing and coaching opportunities for young women in Chicago and help them develop”, Almazan said. “We look forward to assessing area talent at our first tryouts Saturday and Sunday, November 25 and 26.” House women’s will be playing their home matches at Elmhurst University, Langhorst Field.
First round of tryouts will be held at the Strikers Fox Valley Indoor Center, 1000 Kirk Road, Geneva, IL 60134. Players can register for the tryout here on the club’s website.
House Managing Partner Peter Wilt added to Almazan’s comments stating, “This is a natural evolution for the House women’s program. Jason and his staff and the players did a great job this year pioneering the club and setting the stage for this next important step,” Wilt said. “The WPSL club will be aspirational for youth players in the area who want to watch the game played at a high level and hope to play for Chicago House in the future.”
Since its establishment in 1998, the Women’s Premier Soccer League has been the pinnacle platform for advancing player development in the United States at the amateur level. Through its 25-year history, the WPSL has grown into a leading advocate for women’s soccer by creating multiple avenues for developmental opportunities, including the WPSL International Combine and the WPSL U21 league.
ABOUT CHICAGO HOUSE AC: Founded in 2020, Chicago House AC is a community-based soccer club with men’s and women’s teams, a U-23 squad and boys, girls and futsal academies. The men’s team joined the Midwest Premier League after a year playing in the third division professional National Independent Soccer Association. The women’s team played an independent schedule in 2023 and joined WPSL in 2023 for the 2024 season. The House men’s team finished its 11-game 2022 schedule with ten straight matches undefeated before beginning a Cinderella US Open Cup run of five straight matches undefeated before falling to Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire. In 2023, House had another successful MWPL season and is playing this Saturday in the 4th and final round of 2024 US Open Cup Qualifying. Chicago House AC U-23 team has played two seasons finished atop the standings both years with only one loss over two years. Led by Managing Partner, President and CEO Peter Wilt, Chicago House AC is structured as a public benefit corporation committed to transparency and working with its constituents to use its platform for social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion. Chicago House AC is sponsored by Diaza, Weiss Memorial Hospital, and Fruit Street Health. For more information, contact us at info@chicagohouseac.com, visit www.chicagohouseac.com and follow on X at @ChicagoHouse_AC.
ABOUT WPSL: WPSL’s national footprint stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific and down to the Gulf with teams in 31 of the 50 U.S. states. The WPSL holds a 15.7% annual growth rate and has averaged 31 expansion teams each season since 2016. Adhering to its mission of providing the highest level of development opportunities, WPSL team rosters consist of elite female players from collegiate, post-collegiate, international, and standout prep athletes. The average age of a WPSL player is 20.7 years old. Sixty-nine percent of WPSL players are rostered on teams from their hometown’s metro area and 92% of the WPSL’s collegiate athletes play for NCAA member institutions. Notable alumnae who’ve honed their talents in the WPSL include NCAA All-Americans, MAC Hermann Trophy recipients, Hall of Fame Inductees, Olympic Medalists, World Cup Winners, NWSL Champions, and Ballon d’Or recipients. The WPSL is sanctioned by the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) – an affiliate of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), the ruling body of soccer in the United States.