{"id":254374,"date":"2025-10-27T10:40:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T10:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/254374\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T10:40:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T10:40:08","slug":"philadelphia-union-24-22-chicago-fire-the-philly-soccer-page","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/254374\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia Union 2(4) \u2013 2(2) Chicago Fire \u2013 The Philly Soccer Page"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union\u00a0<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Union survived a wild postseason opener on Sunday night, defeating Chicago Fire FC 6\u20134 on penalties after a 2\u20132 draw in regulation at Subaru Park. The Boys in Blue saw a two-goal cushion disappear in the final minutes but held their nerve from the spot, with Jes\u00fas Bueno converting the decisive penalty to give Philly a 1\u20130 lead in the best-of-three series.<\/p>\n

The Union entered their first playoff match since 2023 with six players making their first MLS postseason appearance. Under the glow of a packed Subaru Park and a newly unveiled Supporters\u2019 Shield banner, the opening half was a tight, physical affair.<\/p>\n

Philly\u2019s first real look came in the 8th minute, when Jovan Lukic volleyed wide from the edge of the box after a recycled corner. Both sides traded half-chances through the opening 30 minutes, with Danley Jean Jacques and Kai Wagner each firing over from distance.<\/p>\n

As the half wore on, Chicago began to press forward, forcing Andre Blake into a sharp save in the 39th minute to deny Jonathan Bamba from close range. Despite the intensity and a handful of fouls, neither side broke through before the whistle, sending the teams into halftime scoreless.<\/p>\n

Second Half<\/p>\n

After a sluggish start to the second half, Bradley Carnell\u2019s substitutions shifted the momentum. In the 64th minute, Mikael Uhre and Frankie Westfield came on for Bruno Damiani and Nathan Harriel, and the change paid off almost immediately.<\/p>\n

In the 70th minute, Uhre linked up beautifully with Indiana Vassilev, slipping a clever pass into the box for the midfielder to finish low into the right corner for 1\u20130. Just five minutes later, Philly doubled the lead when Milan Iloski danced through defenders before blasting a left-footed shot into the top corner for 2\u20130, with Tai Baribo providing the assist.<\/p>\n

The Union looked to close things out, bringing on Jes\u00fas Bueno and Cavan Sullivan in the 82nd minute to tighten midfield control. But the Fire refused to fade. In the 84th minute, Bamba pulled one back from close range after a scramble in front of goal.<\/p>\n

Then, deep into stoppage time, former Union defender Jack Elliott unleashed a low drive from distance that slipped through traffic and found the bottom corner in the 90+3 minute, leveling the match at 2\u20132.<\/p>\n

Tempers flared soon after as a scuffle broke out in stoppage time, with Chicago\u2019s Sergio Oregel Jr. sent off for violent conduct after a clash with Kai Wagner and Brian Guti\u00e9rrez, leaving the visitors down to ten men heading into the shootout.<\/p>\n

Penalty Shootout<\/p>\n

With the crowd on its feet, the shootout opened dramatically as both goalkeepers stole the spotlight early. Chris Brady denied Mikael Uhre, only for Andre Blake to respond moments later by saving from Jack Elliott, keeping things level.<\/p>\n

From there, the Union\u2019s shooters took control:<\/p>\n

Frankie Westfield buried his attempt down the middle.<\/p>\n

Milan Iloski followed with a confident strike to the top right.<\/p>\n

Tai Baribo slotted home to the lower right.<\/p>\n

When Chicago\u2019s Joel Waterman hit the crossbar moments later, the door opened for another Union postseason hero moment and Jes\u00fas Bueno delivered. The Venezuelan midfielder calmly rolled his shot into the bottom right corner to clinch the shootout victory, sparking celebrations across Subaru Park.<\/p>\n

Three Points<\/p>\n

Uhre Unlocks the Attack: Once again, Mikael Uhre\u2019s presence completely changed the Union\u2019s offensive rhythm. Even without scoring in open play, it\u2019s obvious that Philly\u2019s attack just flows better when Uhre\u2019s on the pitch.
\nThe Bus Broke Down: After going up 2\u20130, Philly\u2019s defensive shape got passive, allowing Chicago to dictate tempo and claw back two goals. It\u2019s a cautionary tale: this team thrives in transition and chaos, not when sitting back and absorbing pressure.
\nChicago\u2019s Oregel Problem: The Fire\u2019s late red card to Sergio Oregel adds insult to injury. His dismissal for violent conduct means Chicago will be without one of their more versatile midfielders for Game 2.<\/p>\n

Lineups<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Union (4-4-2):\u00a0Andre Blake, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel (Frankie Westfield \u2013 64\u2032 ), Kai Wagner, Olwethu Makhanya, Jovan Lukic (Jes\u00fas Bueno \u2013 82\u2032), Indiana Vassilev (Cavan Sullivan \u2013 82\u2032), Danley Jean Jacques, Milan Iloski, Tai Baribo, Bruno Damiani (Mikael Uhre \u2013 64\u2032)<\/p>\n

Unused Substitutes: Andrew Rick, Olivier Mbaizo, Alejandro Bedoya, Chris Donovan, Ben Bender<\/p>\n

Chicago Fire (3-4-3):\u00a0Chris Brady, Joel Waterman, Jack Elliott, Samual Rogers (Brian Gutierrez \u2013 73\u2032 ), D\u2019Avilla Dje Tah (Mauricio Pineda \u2013 68\u2032), Rominigue Kouame (Sergio Oregel \u2013 73\u2032), Andrew Gutman, Jonathan Dean (Tom Barlow 90\u2019+1\u2032), Hugo Cuypers, Maren Haile-Selassie, Jonathan Bamba<\/p>\n

Unused Substitutes: Jeff Gal, Omar Gonzalez, Kellyn Acosta, Justin Reynolds<\/p>\n

Scoring Summary:<\/p>\n

PHI: Indiana Vassilev (Mikael Uhre, Milan Iloski) \u2013 70\u2019<\/p>\n

PHI: Milan Iloski (Tai Baribo) \u2013 75\u2019<\/p>\n

CHI: Jonathan Bamba (Andrew Gutman) \u2013 84\u2032<\/p>\n

CHI: Jack Elliott (Jonathan Bamba) \u2013 90\u2019+3\u2032<\/p>\n

Penalty Kick Summary:<\/p>\n

PHI: Mikael Uhre \u2013 Saved (2-2)<\/p>\n

CHI: Jack Elliott \u2013 Saved (2-2)<\/p>\n

PHI: Frankie Westfield \u2013 Goal (PHI 3-2)<\/p>\n

CHI: Brian Gutierrez \u2013 Goal (3-3)<\/p>\n

PHI: Milan Iloski \u2013 Goal (PHI 4-3)<\/p>\n

CHI: Hugo Cuypers \u2013 Goal (4-4)<\/p>\n

PHI: Tai Baribo\u00a0\u2013 Goal (PHI 5-4)<\/p>\n

CHI: Joel Waterman \u2013 Missed (PHI 5-4)<\/p>\n

PHI: Jes\u00fas Bueno \u2013 Goal (PHI 6-4)<\/p>\n

Disciplinary Summary:<\/p>\n

CHI: Joel Waterman (Yellow \u2013 Foul ) \u2013 67\u2019<\/p>\n

PHI: Jovan Lukic (Yellow \u2013 Foul ) \u2013 74\u2019<\/p>\n

CHI: Jack Elliott (Yellow \u2013 Foul ) \u2013 89\u2019<\/p>\n

PHI: Jakob Glesnes (Yellow \u2013 Foul ) \u2013 90\u2019+1\u2032<\/p>\n

CHI: Sergio Oregel (Red \u2013 Violent Conduct) \u2013 90\u2019+4\u2032<\/p>\n

CHI: Brian Gutierrez (Yellow \u2013 Poor Sportsmanship) \u2013 90\u2019+5\u2032<\/p>\n

PHI: Kai Wagner (Yellow \u2013 Poor Sportsmanship) \u2013 90\u2019+5\u2032<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n Author: Anna Grillo<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t 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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union\u00a0 Philadelphia Union survived a wild postseason opener on Sunday night, defeating Chicago Fire…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[403,99],"class_list":["post-254374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-soccer","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}