Chicago House Athletic Club’s remarkable U.S. Open Cup journey will continue as they defeated Bavarian United SC 1-0 at Elmhurst University.
A close encounter throughout, the hosts jumped in front near the end of the first half thanks to a headed goal from center back John Makowiecki. The Bavarians pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but Chicago’s defense held on despite everything that was thrown at them.
The House booked their spot in the next round as a result, where they’ll travel north to take on USL League One outfit Forward Madison.
Story of the match
The first chance of the contest came after 10 minutes. A House defender slipped while trying to clear the ball, and he accidentally hit it right to Matthew Comisky. His shot was rolling towards the bottom corner, but it was saved well by Tony Halterman.
Bavarian United stayed in control for the early portions, and they carved out another opening midway through the half. Braden Andryk drove down the left wing and put in a wonderful cross into a dangerous area. It wasn’t dealt with properly at first, but Chicago eventually cleared the ball away after a solid tackle.
The House grew into the game after that, and they came close themselves in the 35th minute. Ricardo Avalos made beautiful contact on a volley, and the effort seemed destined for the corner. He was denied by Agustin Rey, though.
They didn’t have to wait much longer for the opening goal. A corner was won by Naz Kabbani, who headed it towards frame. His effort was flicked-on by John Makowiecki, and his header bounced off the underside of the bar and over the line.
Chicago had to survive the rest of the half, but they held on to go into the break with a narrow lead. They nearly doubled their advantage at the start of the second half, as AR Smith went on a long run with the ball, but he whiffed entirely on his shot attempt.
The Bavarians regained control of proceedings, and they threatened on a few occasions. They just couldn’t carve out a clear chance, though.
The House did, and they maybe should have made it 2-0. It was a similar move to their earlier goal, with AR Smith being the one to win the initial header this time. Makowiecki got on the end of it, but his redirection went right to the goalkeeper.
The frantic pace continued as Chicago was then forced into a goal line clearance on the other side of the field.
Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Bavarian United were forced to throw a lot of players forward. That opened up space on the counter, and the House nearly capitalized, but they were let down by some misplaced passes at the worst times.
The away side really went for it at the very end. They put in cross after cross after cross, and each effort looked dangerous. It all led to a shot from the edge of the area, but instead of finding the bottom corner, it rolled wide of the goal.
The Bavarians had one final opportunity when they won a free-kick. The whipped in ball was perfect, and the header was on frame, but Halterman rose up to make the massive save, and the danger was eventually cleared.
That proved to be the final highlight of the contest as Chicago held on to secure the monumental victory.
Takeaways
The playing surface was not ideal, as the game took place on a turf field, and it rained a little during the beginning of the match. That made the pitch incredibly slick, and the ball zipped around as a result.
There was a solid turnout for the contest, which was nice to see. The weather was pretty bad as per usual in this part of the world at this time of year, but that didn’t stop supporters from showing up. I was in the press box and I still felt cold.
This was a defensive masterclass from the House. They kept it compact at the back, forcing the opposition to attack from the wings. They had to make a few last-ditch challenges, but they did what they had to whenever things looked shaky. Chicago even stole a goal from a set-piece, which gave them something to defend. It wasn’t quite the beautiful game, but it was still a beautiful thing to see.
On the other hand, Bavarian United never really had another plan. They resorted to lumping in crosses, which played right into the House’s hands. The Bavarians will be frustrated with how this game went, but they’ll only have themselves to blame for what happened.
Man of the match - John Makowiecki
A clean sheet and a winning goal is every defender’s dream. Well, for John Makowiecki on this night, that dream was a reality.
He was a monster at the back, dealing with every single thing that was hurled at him. He won challenge after challenge, he cleared away crosses, and he rose highest for any aerial ball hit towards him.
Then, on the other side of the pitch, Makowiecki grabbed the only goal of the match. It was an instinctive header, as he reacted quickly to flick the ball on towards frame, and it was enough to sneak under the crossbar and into the back of the net.
It was a heroic performance, and it was a big reason why Chicago ended the night as winners.