Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union 

Philadelphia Union punched their ticket to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in spectacular fashion, defeating Chicago Fire FC 3-0 at SeatGeek Stadium to close out their Best-of-Three first-round series. Tai Baribo struck twice within the opening 20 minutes, and Bruno Damiani added a third as the Union’s relentless first-half performance sealed the result early. Andre Blake’s penalty save highlighted a composed defensive effort that saw the Supporters’ Shield winners comfortably advance.

First Half

From the opening whistle, Philadelphia looked intent on finishing the job quickly. Tai Baribo opened the scoring in the 8th minute, pressing Chicago’s stand-in goalkeeper Jeffrey Gal into a costly turnover before slotting home into an empty net. Just eight minutes later, Baribo doubled the lead with a textbook header off a cross from Kai Wagner. Chicago nearly pulled one back in the 32nd minute when Brian Gutiérrez earned a penalty, but Andre Blake denied him to preserve the clean sheet. The Union capitalized on the momentum only minutes later when in the 35th, Milan Iloski’s shot deflected into Damiani’s path, who capitalized with a one-touch finish to the lower left corner.

Second Half

With the result all but secured, the Union managed the tempo through the second half, absorbing Chicago’s pressure while maintaining composure. The Fire pushed forward, earning a handful of corners and long-range attempts, but none were serious enough to challenge Blake. Philadelphia rotated late, bringing on Indiana Vassilev, Chris Donovan, and Alejandro Bedoya to close out the match. The final whistle sends the Union home to Subaru Park for the remainder of their postseason, where they’ll host either Charlotte FC or New York City FC the weekend of November 22 in the conference semi-final.

Three Points

Front-Pressing Masterclass – Philadelphia’s coordinated front press forced repeated errors from Chicago’s back line, leading directly to Baribo’s opener and setting the rhythm for the first half.
Winning the Second Ball – Philly’s midfielders recovered numerous loose balls, sustaining pressure and denying Chicago transitions.
No Let-Up in the Windy City – Even with a three-goal cushion, the Union’s defensive organization stayed sharp, limiting Chicago’s efforts later on.

Lineups

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2): Andre Blake, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel, Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Jovan Lukic, Frankie Westfield, Danley Jean Jacques, Milan Iloski (Indiana Vassilev – 68′), Tai Baribo (Alejandro Bedoya – 85′), Bruno Damiani (Chris Donovan – 85′)

Unused Substitutes: Andrew Rick, Olivier Mbaizo, Jesús Bueno, Cavan Sullivan, Ben Bender, Jeremy Rafanello

Chicago Fire (4-3-3): Jeff Gal, Jack Elliott, Joel Waterman, Andrew Gutman, Jonathan Dean (Maren Haile-Selassie – HT), D’Avilla Dje Tah (Tom Barlow – 65′), Rominigue Kouame (Mauricio Pineda – 26′), Brian Gutierrez, Hugo Cuypers, Jonathan Bamba, Philip Zinckernagel

Unused Substitutes: Omar Gonzalez, Kellyn Acosta, Justin Reynolds, Samuel Williams, Bryan Dowd, Samual Rogers

Scoring Summary:

PHI: Tai Baribo – 8’

PHI: Tai Baribo (Kai Wagner, Jovan Lukic) – 16′

PHI: Bruno Damiani (Milan Iloski) – 35′

Disciplinary Summary:

CHI: Jonathan Bamba (Yellow – Foul) – 19’

PHI: Danley Jean Jacques (Yellow – Poor Sportsmanship) – 31′

PHI: Milan Iloski (Yellow – Foul) – 40′

CHI: Dje D’Avilla (Yellow – Foul) – 63′

CHI: Maren Haile-Selassie (Yellow – Foul) – 69′


Author: Anna Grillo
Anna has been finding one way or another to be involved with soccer ever since she got kicked out of little league on the first day. A Union season ticket holder, you might recognize her in Subaru Park as the super loud Italian girl whose yelling accidentally scares the kids in section 101. She doesn’t tweet, but you can occasionally find her on the Union subreddit sharing the custom shirts she makes for matches.