2024 Men’s and Women’s First Team Top 11 List

As a new year approaches, it’s always good to look back on the past year to see what has (and, sometimes, has not!) been achieved. Here are 11 top moments of 2024 for the House First Teams from the Chicago House AC Historian perspective:

11) DJ Brett playing House music at House home games

House AC was named after the music genre that was born in Chicago. Having a House DJ at all men’s and women’s first team home matches paid homage to that Chicago history (and got opposing team’s dancing during pre-game!).

10) Midwest Premier League Heartland Conference “Championship Match”

The House AC men’s first team met RWB Adria at the Fire Pitch in Chicago on August 3, 2024. If House won the game, House would’ve finished top of Heartland Conference standings for the first team championship. Unfortunately, Adria won the game 2-1 and captured the title.

9) House Technical Director and Head Coach Matt Poland moves into professional ranks at Naples FC

Matt Poland took over as the Chicago House AC head coach after House left the professional National Independent Soccer Association (NISA) in 2021. He established a professional environment and professional expectations for House’s men’s first team, and the players responded with successful league seasons and US Open Cup runs.

8) House AC’s first ever men’s international match

The House’s men’s first team took on Chivas de Guadalajara’s U-23 team in a friendly at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL. A competitive match ended with House losing 3-2.

7) House First Team awards

For the 2nd year in a row, House men’s first team #10 Ricardo “Kikis” Avalos led the Midwest Premier League Heartland Conference in scoring and captured the Robert Gansler Sr. Golden Boot Award. On the Women’s side, House were awarded the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) “Franchise of the Year” in the Great Lakes Division and Goalkeeper Kate Hopma earned ‘Defensive Player of the Year,” while teammates Ailyn Gallardo (defender), Maggie Schmidt (midfielder) and Kayla Shebar (forward) earned all-conference awards within the WPSL Great Lakes Division.

6) House AC Women’s First Team quality development

In 2023 House AC inaugurated a Women’s first team with a friendly against Chicago’s Edgewater Castle. Castle dominated House and won that match 5-0. On May 11, House’s women’s first team opened the 2024 campaign with a 1-1 draw in a friendly with Edgewater Castle, demonstrating a step forward in competitiveness on the field.

5) House 40th Anniversary uniform design

In another homage to the genre of music that Chicago’s Black community developed 40 years ago, House worked with kit supplier Dazia to create uniforms which honored and respected that important history.

4) Commitment of House Volunteers to improving our community

As a semi-professional organization, House AC relies on a community of volunteers to support it. Players, trainers, front office staff, game day staff and others work to ensure that House AC is as professional of an organization as possible.

3) House AC player, Shannon Seymour, named as Men’s First Team Technical Director and Head Coach

In August 2024, Shannon Seymour was announced as the 3rd official full-time Men’s First Team Technical Director and Head Coach, following in the footsteps of CJ Brown and Matt Poland. He is also the youngest Head Coach in team history and House’s first former player to lead the men’s first team.

2) 2024-2025 US Open Cup competition

While House AC did not qualify for the Cup proper this year, the Men’s first team, under the leadership of Shannon Seymour and Captain AR Smith, got as close as a team possibly could. The fact that the December 8th final qualifying match versus Tulsa Athletic ended in a draw means House can still claim an undefeated record in Open Cup qualifying.

1) House AC Women’s First Team 1st ever competitive match win

It is worth noting, that, even in 2024, women do not have the national tournament (US Open Cup) that men do, so it is literally impossible for House’s Women’s First Team to compete in the same way that men compete in the United States. However, there are now leagues developing which give women a more equitable competition landscape, and on June 21st at Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, House defeated Quad Cities Rush 2-1 in a Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) match. (This was technically not the Women’s first ever win, as Quad Cities Rush forfeited the first scheduled match between the teams on June 2.)

It is never easy to select a limited number of significant events in a year, and 2024 has been a particularly eventful one for Chicago House AC, on and off the field. House AC’s youth programs have expanded significantly, with the House AC academy tripling in size. In addition, House earned league championships for both men’s (NISL) and women’s U-23 (PSL) programs. Given this wealth of 2024 significant events options, House can look forward to an even more event filled 2025.

Next
Next

House Falls In PKs