A.A.C. Eagles is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States. Founded in 1940, the team plays in Region II of the

United States Adult Soccer Association The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for Amateur sports, amateur Association football, soccer in the United States. It consists of 54 state associations in four regions, as well as national, regional, and ...

, a network of amateur leagues at the fifth tier of the

American Soccer Pyramid The United States soccer league system is a series of professional and amateur association football, soccer leagues based, in whole or in part, in the United States. Although sometimes called the American soccer pyramid, teams and leagues are no ...

. They joined the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American for-profit soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The leagu ...

in 2022. However, due to a dispute with league management, the team left for the local Metropolitan Soccer League, and following that league's merger with the National Soccer League to become the

Greater Chicago Soccer League The Greater Chicago Soccer League , formerly the National Soccer League (Chicago), formed by the merger of the Chicago Soccer League and International Soccer Football League of Chicago in 1928, is a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which claim ...

, they left for the Premier League where they play as of 2024. The team's colors are red and white.

History

The Eagles were formed as an ethnic club by

Polish American Polish Americans () are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 8.81 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.67% of the U.S. population, ...

immigrants to the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

area in 1940. Originally known as the Polish American Athletic Club Eagles (PAAC Eagles), the team first played in the

National Soccer League of Chicago The Greater Chicago Soccer League , formerly the National Soccer League (Chicago), formed by the merger of the Chicago Soccer League and International Soccer Football League of Chicago in 1928, is a semi-professional U.S. soccer league which claim ...

, and played under that name until 1950, when the team became officially known as the Chicago Eagles. Since then the team has been known by various names, swapping between its earlier names (PAAC Eagles, Chicago Eagles), and newer variants (Chicago American Eagles, Polish Eagles), before settling on its current incarnation in the mid-1990s. The Eagles currently play in the Metropolitan Soccer League, which is a member of the

Region II group of leagues. The Eagles have a long and distinguished history of competing in the

National Challenge Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

. Having already reached the final stages of the competition during its early years in 1948 and 1949, the Eagles reached the semifinals in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, losing on penalties to eventual winners St. Petersburg Kickers, and won the tournament in

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

in the pre-MLS era, beating the

Brooklyn Italians Brooklyn Italians SC is an American soccer team based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1949, the team has won 2 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (1979, 1991), making it the last team from New York to have won the tournamen ...

2–0 in the final thanks to goals from Janusz Kieca and Peter Modrzejewski. Their win in the competition also gave them entry to the

1991 CONCACAF Champions' Cup The 1991 CONCACAF Champions' Cup was the 27th edition of the annual international club football competition held in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean), the CONCACAF Champions' Cup. It determined that year's clu ...

, where they lost 4–1 on aggregate in the first round to Bermudian club

PHC Zebras The Pembroke Hamilton Club Zebras is a Football in Bermuda, Bermudian professional association football, football club based in Hamilton, Bermuda, Hamilton that participates in the Bermudian Premier Division. They play their home games on PHC F ...

. The Eagles qualified for the cup again in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, the last all-amateur competition prior to the entrance of teams from

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, but lost 2–1 to

Bavarian Leinenkugel Bavarian United SC is an American soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Bavarian Majors of the Bavarian Soccer Club compete in the USL League 2. The team plays its home games in the athletic stadium at the Heartland Value F ...

in the quarterfinals. Since the introduction of professional teams into the cup the Eagles have not fared as well. They lost in the first round to the

Chicago Stingers Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

, lost in the first round again in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

to New York Freedom, and lost in the first round for a third time in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, this time falling 4–1 to

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

side

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. ...

. In 2008 the club qualified for their fourth modern

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

, beating the

Milwaukee Bavarians Bavarian United SC is an American association football, soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. Bavarian Majors of the Bavarian Soccer Club compete in the USL League 2. The team plays its home games in the athletic stadium at ...

and Des Moines Menace Reserves in their regional qualification tournament, but lost 4–0 in the first round to the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

of the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

. In addition to their USOC triumph in 1990, the Eagles won the

USASA The United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA) is a national organization for amateur soccer in the United States. It consists of 54 state associations in four regions, as well as national, regional, and state leagues. It compares to the Uni ...

Open Cup in 1989 and 2002. They are nine-time Illinois state champions, eleven-time Metropolitan Soccer League Major Division champions, and also sponsored the Chicago Eagles Select which briefly played in the

in 2001 and 2002. In 2022 Eagles announced via social media their joining the

. This would only last for the Spring 2022, after which they left for the local Metropolitan Soccer League. When that league merged with the National Soccer League to ultimately form the Greater Chicago Soccer League in 2023, the Eagles chose to play in the Premier Soccer League of Chicagoland.

Players

Current roster

''Source

'

Year-by-year

Honors

Winner (1):

National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American knockout soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association The Unite ...

Winner (1): 1989 *

Peel Cup The Peter J. Peel Challenge Cup, better known as the Peel Cup, was an open soccer competition that crowned the Illinois state champion until it was replaced by the Illinois Governor’s Cup in 1971. History Origins Peter Peel was born in 1866 in ...

Winner (7): 1950, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1963, 1999, 2000 *Participations in

CONCACAF Champions' Cup The CONCACAF Champions Cup, formerly known as CONCACAF Champions League (2008–2023), is an international association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for clubs from North America, Central America, a ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Head coaches

* Pawel Otachel (present)

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eagles, AAC Soccer clubs in Illinois Soccer clubs in Chicago National Soccer League (Chicago) teams 1940 establishments in Illinois Polish-American organizations Polish association football clubs outside Poland Association football clubs established in 1940 Indoor soccer clubs in the United States U.S. clubs in CONCACAF Champions' Cup U.S. Open Cup winners Poland–United States sports relations