Chicago House AC

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Chicago House AC
Chicago House AC Logo.png
Full nameChicago House Athletic Club
Founded2020; 1 year ago (2020)
StadiumSeatGeek Stadium
Capacity20,000
OwnerLindsey Morgan Sacks
Head coachC. J. Brown
LeagueNational Independent Soccer Association
WebsiteClub website

Chicago House Athletic Club is an American professional soccer club owned by Lindsey Morgan Sacks and led by CEO Peter Wilt. The club is based in Bridgeview, Illinois, in the Chicago metropolitan area. They have begun playing in the National Independent Soccer Association league from August 2021.[1]

History[]

On September 10, 2020, the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) announced that an investor group, led by league founder Peter Wilt, had applied for a club to play in the Chicago market.[2] Wilt had previously attempted to start a new Chicago team in 2016 with the North American Soccer League (NASL) and more recently in 2018, following his departure from NISA, successfully started the Madison, Wisconsin based Forward Madison FC in USL League One.[3][4] Other investors included Bruce Merivale-Austin and William "Night Train" Veeck, grandson of famed Major League Baseball team owner Bill Veeck.[5]

On November 5, NISA officially announced the team had been accepted with an aim to begin play in Fall 2021.[6] In the following months, the team asked fans to submit potential team names that related to the history and culture of Chicago. The team selected 68 finalists and held a fan advisory poll bracket, dubbed "Moniker Madness", to determine the most popular option.[7] The winner of the poll, "Chicago House" was unveiled as the official name on February 23, 2021, along side the team crest and colors.[8][9]

On January 27, 2021 the team announced that it would play home matches at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois.[10] On February 2, former Chicago Fire FC player and all-time appearance leader C. J. Brown was announced as the team's first technical director and head coach.[11]

On May 1, 2021 the team announced that Lindsey Morgan Sacks would become the new primary team owner, taking control of the club from Bruce Merivale-Austin.[12] Morgan Sacks is the wife of New Amsterdam FC (also of NISA) owner Laurence Girard.

On July 9, 2021 the team played their official first match in club history, losing 2-0 to amateur side FC Milwaukee Torrent in the 2021 NISA Independent Cup.

Players and staff[]

Current roster[]

As of August 13, 2021[13]
No. Pos. Player Nation
1 GK Joel Serrano  Puerto Rico
2 DF John Requejo  United States
3 MF Keegan Thompson  United States
5 DF David Abidor  United States
7 MF Michael Kozielek  United States
8 MF Drew Conner  United States
9 FW Wojciech Wojcik  Poland
10 FW Nazeem Bartman  South Africa
11 MF Musa Morris  Nigeria
12 DF Michael Kafari  Ghana
14 FW Anthony Ray Smith, Jr.  United States
17 MF Leonardo Acosta  United States
18 GK Mike Novotny  United States
21 DF Louis Bennett II  United States
22 MF Matteo Kidd  United States
23 FW Jacob Bevan  England
24 DF Stefan Mijatović  United States
27 DF Anthony Bowie  United States
32 DF Rodolfo Sulia  Puerto Rico
33 GK Brandon Barnes  United States
88 DF Seo-In Kim  South Korea
94 MF Damon Almazan  United States
99 FW Derek Huffman  United States

Front office[]

  • United States Lindsey Morgan Sacks – Owner
  • United States Peter Wilt – CEO
  • United States William Veeck – COO
  • United States C. J. Brown – Technical director and head coach

References[]

  1. ^ "NISA Approves the Chicago NISA Application". NISA Homepage. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  2. ^ Kennedy, Paul. "Peter Wilt launches another start-up, in another league". www.socceramerica.com. Retrieved January 28, 2021. (subscription required)
  3. ^ Tolmich, Ryan (February 17, 2016). "Peter Wilt looking to revitalize soccer in Chicago with NASL project". SBI Soccer. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  4. ^ Milewski, Todd D. "Big Top hires Peter Wilt to launch pro soccer team at Breese Stevens Field in 2019". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  5. ^ Sandalow, Brian (November 21, 2020). "With passion for fans, Night Train Veeck eager to build new Chicago soccer franchise". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Lewis, Michael. "WELCOME ABOARD: Chicago joins NISA for the 2021 fall season". Front Row Soccer. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  7. ^ Mikula, Jeremy. "What do you get when a Veeck and the man who helped launch the Fire and Red Stars team up? A new soccer team coming to Chicago". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  8. ^ ""Chicago House Athletic Club" Unveiled Along With Club Marks and Colors". Chicago House AC Homepage. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "New soccer club enters the House". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  10. ^ Hanania, Ray. "Chicago NISA Club names SeatGeek Stadium home". Suburban Chicagoland. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Mikula, Jeremy. "Chicago Fire legend C.J. Brown is the 1st technical director and coach of the new Chicago NISA club". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  12. ^ https://www.chicagohouseac.com/news/2021/05/01/bruce-merivale-austin-transitions-pto-status
  13. ^ "Roster". www.chicagohouseac.com. Retrieved August 13, 2021.

External links[]

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