A.A.C. Eagles is an American soccer team based in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 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 soccer in the United States. It consists of 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues. The National Premier Soccer League, NI ...

, a network of amateur leagues at the fifth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They joined the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American 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 league was found ...

in 2022. The team's colors are red and white.

History

The Eagles were formed as an ethnic club by

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

immigrants to the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

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

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

in the pre-MLS era, beating the

Brooklyn Italians Brooklyn Italians is an American soccer team based in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1949, the team last played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), a national amateur league at the fourth tier of the Americ ...

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 Eagles qualified for the cup again in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, the last all-amateur competition prior to the entrance of teams from Major League Soccer, 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 United Premier Soccer League. The team plays its home games in the athletic stadium at the Hear ...

in the quarter finals. 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, lost in the first round again in 2002 to New York Freedom, and lost in the first round for a third time in 2005, this time falling 4–1 to

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

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. The ...

. In 2008 the club qualified for their fourth modern

US 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 of America. It is the oldest ongoing national soccer competition in that country. The 2023 U.S. Op ...

, beating the

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

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 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

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 (t ...

. 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 55 state organizations as well as national, regional and state leagues. The National Premier Soccer League, NI ...

Open Cup in 1989 and 2002. They are nine-time Illinois state champions, eleven-time Metropolitan Soccer League Major Division champions,US Open Cup
/ref> 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

Players

Current roster

''Source

'

Year-by-year

Honors

* U.S. Open Cup Winner (1):

National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). In 1923, U.S. ...

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:

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

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