NFL
By: Zachary Draves
The palpable sound of Chicago-based House music reverberating throughout SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois set the stage for the inaugural home debut of the Chicago House Athletic Club of the National Independent Soccer Association.
A sound that is based on anticipation, excitement, and generating enthusiasm.
It marked a new beginning for professional soccer in Chicago as the House took the field against New Amsterdam FC.
The first half was marked by physical play and New Amerstdam FC taking an early 2-0 lead as the House had difficulty getting shots on goal and maintaining possession of the ball with only one shot on goal, two offsides, and nine fouls.
The second half didn’t fare much better for the House as FC scored two additional goals giving them all they needed to secure a sweeping victory.
In defeat, the House took it in stride and got those first home game jitters out of the way as they move ahead with the season.
Afterward, head coach CJ Brown, a former soccer pro, expressed his takeaways from the game.
“I hope to learn and get the guys to recognize how to be patient” he said.
“I want us to be a pressing team at times but wanting to also reel them in at times and get them to play soccer.”
The game itself brought an intensity and excitement among the over 1,000 fans who were in attendance for this debut and that rubbed off on players such as team captain Drew Connor.
“Coming into this stadium and running into traffic on (Route) 55 it was nice” he said.
“It felt good to get into this stadium and feel like it was ours so that was nice to walk into.”
He also spoke of the pressure of starting this team from scratch.
“It is not easy” he said.
“We got a great foundation but now we got to start putting results on the field.”
The sense of taking one game at a time was certainly the mindset of this team and even in defeat, they look ahead.
It also helped that the fireworks display after the game gave the fans something more to look forward to.
The House (1-2) will take on the Detroit City FC (2-0) at SeatGeek Stadium on Sunday, August 29 at 6:00 pm Central Time.
