Union move on to MLS Eastern Conference semifinals after a dominant Game 2 performance against Chicago

All three goals came in the first half, two from Tai Baribo and one from Bruno Damiani, as the Supporters’ Shield winners capitalized on Chicago starting a backup goalkeeper due to an injury.

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Nov. 1, 2025, 8:20 p.m. ET

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — The Union finished off a first-round playoff sweep of the Chicago Fire with a dominant 3-0 win on Saturday.

All three goals came in the first half, two from Tai Baribo and one from Bruno Damiani, as the Supporters’ Shield winners capitalized on Chicago starting a backup goalkeeper, Jeffrey Gal, due to an injury.

With the win, the Union will host the winner between No. 4 Charlotte FC and No. 5 New York City FC when the semifinal rounds take place on Nov. 22-23. That series is headed the distance, after Charlotte won at Yankee Stadium Saturday in a penalty kick shootout after a scoreless draw in regulation.

The gap in the schedule is due to the November FIFA window, which includes the U.S. men’s national team’s game at Subaru Park on Nov. 15.

Union manager Bradley Carnell was forced to make two changes to his squad. The first was in midfield, where Indiana Vassilev wasn’t deemed fit to start. Enter Frankie Westfield, who was surprisingly well-suited for that attacking role.

It was Westfield’s first time in that kind of position for the Union, but it wasn’t a new idea to him. The right back role he played for the U.S. at the recent under-20 World Cup had him pushing forward a lot, creating overlapping plays with the right-sided midfielder and winger. That got him used to being upfield.

The other big news was striker Mikael Uhre being sidelined at the last minute. It was known that he’d suffered a knee knock a week ago, and Carnell said Uhre felt something Saturday morning. So the team did not risk him.

Chicago, meanwhile, had its own surprise: starting goalkeeper Chris Brady, one of the headline figures of Game 1, was out with a lower-body injury. Enter Gal, who made his first appearance since a summer stretch that included the Union’s late-June win at Soldier Field.

But star winger Philip Zinckernagel was back after missing Game 1, and Fire manager Gregg Berhalter also started playmaker Brian Gutiérrez in an attack-minded lineup.

While starting Westfield and Harriel together gave the Union some reinforcement against all that, the mission otherwise had to be clear: make Gal earn his keep. And it took all of 8 minutes to hammer that point home.

It was a simple passing spell by Chicago’s back line off a throw-in to try to pull the Union apart a bit, and the ball came to Gal on the ground. Baribo was pressing, Gal was too loose with the ball, and Baribo picked it right off him. One touch later, the ball was headed to the net.

Baribo doubled the lead in the 16th, this time through the air and off a Union throw-in deep in Chicago’s end. Kai Wagner heaved it into the 18-yard box, it bounced out from the crowd, and Zinckernagel whiffed on an attempted clearance. Jovan Lukić seized the loose ball, sent it back to Wagner, and he arrowed in a cross for Baribo to head in.

Chicago’s chance to turn the tide came in the 29th when Lukić grabbed Jack Elliott amid the crowd awaiting a corner. Referee Jon Freeman promptly whistled for a penalty kick, and after a brief fracas, Gutiérrez stepped up to take it. But his shot was low and rather soft, and Andre Blake saved it easily.

That was all the Union needed to go back to pounding Gal. In the 35th, he took too long to launch a clearance, and when he finally did, Milan Iloski jumped to block it. The ball swung up in the air, Damiani was there when it fell, and slammed it in the empty net.

The first half also had its share of fouls, called and uncalled. Iloski was a bit lucky to get away with only a yellow card for a shoulder charge in the air into Zinckernagel in the 40th. That was one of 14 combined called fouls and three bookings given by referee Jon Freemon before intermission.

The second half nearly started in disastrous fashion for the Union, when Gutiérrez jumped to block a Blake clearance into what had been Gal’s tormented net. But it was quickly clear on a replay that Gutiérrez had blocked the ball with his right arm, and the goal was disallowed.

Carnell made his first substitution in the 67th, sending in Vassilev for Iloski. Alejandro Bedoya and Chris Donovan replaced Damiani and Baribo in the 85th, and Jeremy Rafanello replaced Danley Jean Jacques in the 92nd.

The rest of the night went mostly without incident, save for a repeated profane chant from the stands on Union goal kicks. That prompted a warning from the public address announcer that the game could be suspended due to MLS rules. It eventually was stopped twice, in the 79th for two minutes and in the 86th for a few seconds.

The crowd wasn’t happy about that, and launched some criticism at Freemon that was less profane, but still pointed. Berhalter walked over to the supporters’ sections at the first stoppage and asked them to stop, and Elliott did so at the second. Alas, neither stopped the chant from spreading.

It was noted by some Union fans on social media that a different profane chant is often heard on visiting teams’ goal kicks at Subaru Park, and that does not get warnings.