On Sunday night, the Philadelphia Union defeated the Chicago Fire in a penalty kick shootout at Subaru Park to claim Game 1 in the Opening Round Best-of-3 Series of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Indiana Vassilev opened the scoring for the Union in the 70th minute of the game, followed by Milan Iloski's tally just 5 minutes later to double the lead at home.
Down 2-0 with just minutes left, Chicago came storming back with a late goal from Jonathan Bomba in the 84th minute and an equalizer from former Union SuperDraft pick Jack Elliott in stoppage time to force penalty kicks to decide Game 1.
In the end, converted PKs from Frankie Westfield, Milan Iloski, Tai Baribo, and Jesus Bueno, a shot out off the crossbar by Joel Waterman, and a save from Andre Blake earned DOOP their first win of the 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Before the start of Sunday's match, the Union unveiled their new 2025 Supporters' Shield banner, displayed on the side of the Primepoint club underneath the videoboard which sits on the opposite side of the stadium as The River End, where the Sons of Ben sit.
The Union also paid their respects to the late Brad Youtz, a founding Sons of Ben member who played a huge role in helping bring Major League Soccer to Philadelphia before the Union's existence. Brad unexpectedly passed on Oct. 10, but will always be remembered and loved by his friends, family, and Philadelphia Union fans.
During the match, the Sons of Ben displayed a Tifo in honor of Youtz, which incorporated his nickname, the sticker used in his gorilla marketing campaigns during the early days of the Sons of Ben, his favorite scarf, and "Union Forever, Forever Union" down both sides of the tifo in the same font as the infamous "Forever Boner" building loved by fellow Philadelphians. Brad's influence on soccer in Philadelphia won't be forgotten.
Starting XI
GK: Andre Blake
RB: N. Harriel, CB: J. Glesnes, CB: O. Makhanya, LB: K. Wagner
CDM: D. Jean-Jacques, CDM: J. Lukic
CAM: M. Iloksi, CAM: I. Vassilev
ST: T. Baribo, ST: B. Damiani
In the 70th minute of a 0-0 game, it was Indiana Vassilev who broke the deadlock and gave the Union a 1-0 lead at Subaru Park. Mikael Uhre, who Bradley Carnell says started on the bench due to a small injury concern, was on the field for just about 5 minutes when he carried the ball down the right flank, cut it back on his defender and entered the box, and played a beautiful ball over the top to Vassilev waiting at the back post.
Vassilev controlled the pass from Uhre with his chest and hit a left footed shot on the bounce that beat Chris Brady at the far post to provide Union with the late lead at home.
Just 5 minutes after Vassilev's opening goal, Milan Iloski followed Mikael Uhre's plan of attack and carried the ball down the right flank before cutting back on his defender Jack Elliott and entering the box with the ball at his feet.
Unlike Uhre's assist to Vassilev minutes earlier, Iloski had his sights on nothing but the back of the net and with a left footed shot from just to the right of the penalty spot, Union's mid-summer acquisition placed the ball in the far corner of the goal to double Union's lead with 15 minutes to go.
In the 84th minute and with time winding down on Game 1, Chicago found a lifeline back into the match when Jonathan Bamba took advantage of a failed clearance from a corner kick left inside Union's penalty area.
The ball initially glanced off the post from a header at the back post by Elliott, deflected off of Andrew Gutman, and bounced perfectly for Bamba to blast into an open net.
With the score at 2-1 in the 93rd minute and with just 3 minutes left in stoppage time of Game 1, Elliott drew the game level with a right footed blast from range.
After a free kick opportunity was blocked by Philadelphia's wall, Jonathan Bamba collected his own attempt and moved it over to Elliott, who was about 30 yards out from goal and had no less than 10 bodies standing between him and Andre Blake.
Elliott's attempt had eyes of its own, skidding across the Subaru Park pitch, evading all 10 of the players from either team in front of him, and bouncing past the outstretched finger tips of his former teammate, Andre Blake to tie the game at the death and force Game 1 to be decided from the penalty kick spot.
Andre Blake, Jesús Bueno, and the River End Cross Bar were the heros during the PK shootout to decide Game 1.
Blake made a big diving stop on Elliott in the opening round to match Chirs Brady's stop on Mikael Uhre. Frankie Westfield, Milan Iloski, and Tai Baribo all converted their attempts from the spot, but Joel Waterman's attempt for Chicago rang off the crossbar and gave Union the advantage.
Jesús Bueno, with an opportunity to seal it for the Union, sent Chris Brady the wrong way and placed the ball in the back of the net, giving Union a win in Game 1 of the Best-of-3 series against the Chicago Fire.
Union will take their Game 1 win to Bridgeview, IL and SeatGeek Stadium next Saturday, Nov. 1, with an opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals with a win on the road against Gregg Berhalter and the Chicago Fire.
Oct 26, 2025; Chester, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Union forward Milan Iloski (32) shoots and scores a goal as Chicago Fire defender Jack Elliott (3) defends in the second half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images
James Lang
The Union know they have 2 games to get the job doen, but the message from inside the locker room on Saturday night is that the Union want to return back to Philadelphia next weekend with their names already penciled into the next round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
