Chicago House A.C.: Open Cup calling

“On one hand it feels like the Open Cup was a long time ago.”

“Then, on the other hand, it feels like we just got done with last year's run.”

Those were the words of Chicago House Athletic Club head coach Matt Poland on Tuesday afternoon following practice.

He’s onto something. It had been five months since the House’s dream run in the 2023 Open Cup came to a close, as they lost to the Chicago Fire of MLS at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview. However, the 2023 version of the tournament hadn’t even concluded yet when I talked to him, with the final set for the following night.

Now Poland and his team have their eyes set on the 2024 Open Cup, as their qualifying campaign kicks off on Saturday afternoon. They’ll host Wisloka Chicago at Elmhurst University in the 2nd qualifying round, with kick-off set for 2 pm local time.

Long time no see

It’s been a while since the House has had a competitive fixture.

Their last meaningful match came back in July, over two months ago. They had a solid campaign in the Midwest Premier League, finishing 3rd in the spring season. However, the MWPL did not have a fall season, which meant that Chicago had to fill their schedule with some friendlies.

During that time, and the time since their last Open Cup contest, the House saw their traditional roster turnover take place. It feels like every time I talk to Poland, I have to talk to him about the new faces in the team, but that’s part of the House project. The day I did the interview, they announced the departure of Rodrigo Gudino De Grote to Mexican outfit Inter Playa del Carmen.

“A few more guys have left, which is great to see, but it's a lot of different guys now than who were necessarily with us during the spring. The roster also changed during the summer, a few guys left for college, a few guys got contracts elsewhere,” said Coach Poland. “So it's really changed since then, but it's been good. Same old, same old, it seems. It’s just kind of, we hit restart again on some of the players.”

What’s also stayed the same is the man who’s helping the new guys on the field, club captain AR Smith. He’s been the one to set the standard for years now, and he’s had a real impact both in practice and in games.

The attacker has not only been a bit of a coach for the new players, but he’s also become a coach for youngsters, running training sessions for young players in Chicago.

“I think the mentality is what keeps it the same. The principles always stay the same, not the individuals. Each individual has to do a job and that's up to them,” said Smith. “It’s good because now I can see it from the outside in. As a player, I'm more of a a**hole, but as a coach you got to find different words and different ways to communicate, especially with the kids. It's nice to be able to see the fundamentals of soccer being taught versus being processed during the session.”

A look ahead

That brings us to Saturday.

As mentioned earlier, Chicago will host Wisloka Chicago, who are in the United Premier Soccer League. This has made scouting a bit tougher for the House. It’s not like when they faced major professional sides like Forward Madison or the Chicago Fire, where there’s loads of footage and scouting reports done on them. They’re not even up against a team in the Midwest Premier League they’d be more familiar with.

That’s not phased Poland, though, who’s been through this sort of thing during last year’s qualifying games.

“You can see things online of some of their UPSL games. It's a challenge because teams like that have such a big roster and every week it changes a decent amount. There's a few guys you know for sure who will be there, and then some of the guys only come for the bigger games,” said Poland. “In some ways it's harder because you don't know what to expect and other ways it's easier because you put more focus on yourself instead of overthinking the opponent. Some of it's like, ‘Hey, we're just going to have to figure it out during the game.’ That's the reality of these early rounds of the Open Cup.”

That latter sentiment is shared by Chicago’s captain.

“I think going into it, we have an established identity and it doesn't matter where we play, who we play, what we’re playing for,” said Smith. “I think our goal is still the same and that's to keep the ball and score goals. I don’t think there’s too much pressure. We know that if we just play our game that we should be fine.”

Speaking of pressure, this qualifying attempt will be quite different to last year’s run, at least to the general public. See, in 2022, the House were a lot happier just to be there. The fact that their application being approved was a big deal is proof of that. Every win that came along the way was a bonus, and they became the Cinderella story.

That’s not the case anymore. Chicago knows how big a run in the Open Cup can be for them, and they’d love to repeat the success they had. Getting knocked out before they even get going would be a brutal turn of events.

The House aren’t getting ahead of themselves, though.

“I think the outside world expects it to be an easy game and for us to qualify, but as I tell the guys constantly, last year's Open Cup run could have ended in the first game for us if we don't convert that penalty or win the penalty shootout,” said Poland. “So, in the cup games, yes you can go on a long run, but if you're not focused on the opponent in front of you, it's very easy to make a mistake, drop a game. It's not a league where you can lose a game and still win down the line. You have to win to advance. From my side of things, I have to only focus on the first opponent and taking care of business against them.”

“There’s no pressure, it's one game at a time. Even last year was one game at a time,” said Smith. “We didn't go into the first game expecting to play the Chicago Fire eight games later. We took it one game at a time and that's what we’re doing here. It’s even like that at practice, we’re not thinking about Thursday's practice yet, we’re thinking about Wednesday because tomorrow is Wednesday. It's one game at a time, and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Hype

As the saying goes, pressure is a privilege.

It’s obvious how happy Chicago is to be back in this competition. The vibes were superb at practice, and everyone from the players to the coaches to the staff had a little extra pep in their step. Even the ugly weather only added to the magic of matchweek.

They’re ready to make some more memories in the Open Cup.

“It's just exciting to be back in the Open Cup,” said Poland. “I've obviously become quite fond of the tournament and how it allows players to showcase themselves. I'm excited for the new guys that get to experience it for the first time, and I’m excited for them to get that opportunity.”