FC Milwaukee Torrent Dominates Chicago House AC 6-1 in USASA Amateur Cup Action
By Joe Chatz NPSL.com
FC Milwaukee Torrent controlled the run of play in rainy conditions at Catholic Memorial High School as they took down Chicago House AC 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the USASA Amateur Cup for Region II.
Milwaukee Torrent scored five unanswered goals in the final 71 minutes to secure their spot in the Region II semifinals after each team scored their first goal within a minute of one another.
Milwaukee took advantage of their plethora of chances from set pieces, starting in the eighth minute. Taylor Pill hit his free kick into House’s penalty area where it deflected off a teammate to Angel Gongora who tapped it into the net to give Milwaukee the early 1-0 lead.
Chicago came right back and leveled. House captain AR Smith played a through ball into Milwaukee’s penalty area that Nico Williams collected despite being surrounded by defenders. Williams evaded the Torrent’s backline and found the back of the net with his effort, tying the match at one in the ninth minute.
After some intense back-and-forth play, Milwaukee took the lead for good in the 29th minute. Sam Carles took the ball from near midfield and made a run down the right flank to the edge of House’s penalty area. Carles played a delightful cross that an unmarked Sam Abreu half-volleyed into the wide open net to give his side the 2-1.
Milwaukee extended their lead to 3-1 before halftime as Angel Gongora secured his brace in style in the 34th minute. Milwaukee Torrent’s number five was played the ball 25 yards from goal by Lucas Nesthus, and Gongora promptly hit a rocket into the corner of Chicago’s net, sending his side into the break up two goals.
Chicago House made a substitution at halftime but that didn’t help them against the NPSL Gateway Conference side in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee’s Gabe Voung made it 4-1 in the 51st minute when he collected a loose ball and tapped it past the keeper despite a heap of bodies in front of the goal.
Chicago made everything a bit harder for themselves in the 65th minute after Eduardo Aguilera was sent off after a poor tackle from behind.
Milwaukee substitute Brandon Kaup got in behind House’s defense in the 78th minute but Chicago goalkeeper Austin Salazar slid through Kaup’s legs and the referee awarded a spot kick to the hosts. Gongora tried to secure his hat trick but Salazar leapt to his right and denied the Torrent from extending their lead from the spot.
Since they couldn’t make it 5-1 from the penalty spot, Milwaukee utilized fabulous interplay to make it 5-1 in the 84th minute. Gabe Voung started the sequence in his own half before finding substitute Paco Piscaglia in the open field. Piscaglia took a few touches before playing the ball to an open Zakaria Daaou on the right who had no problem finishing from close-range.
Piscaglia scored a goal of his own in the second minute of second half stoppage time to secure his side’s spot in the Region II semifinals.
Gongora was thrilled that his side came out so well against Chicago House AC on Tuesday evening.
“We know that Chicago House has a fairly pretty good team and we came strong,” said Gongora. “The first goal, I was really happy to put it in and then the second it was, I feel like it was lucky [chuckles], but it was good.”
Gongora was wearing ripped boots that he’s owned for over two years, which he claimed post-match helped him score such a lovely goal with his left foot in the 34th minute.
“I don’t shoot with my left,” Gongora said. “It was a lefty goal, but I got a nice touch. It was a [Toni] Kroos touch. And it just banged in. I kind of blacked out. I don’t remember shooting it.”
Milwaukee Torrent head coach Jeff Pill was impressed with his short-handed side’s resilience despite the conditions in Waukesha.
“We’re starting to trust each other and believe in each other,” said Pill. “We were missing three guys today but we didn’t skip a beat. So, I think we’re having confidence in how we’re trying to play. And I was really impressed by how they kept their composure and kept their cool. And we just kept focus and executed the game plan. So even the adjustments we had to make at halftime when they switched their system, we just rolled right with it.”
Photo Credit: Joe Chatz/NPSL.com
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