Union cough up late lead to Chicago Fire but win Game 1 of playoff series in a shootout
Jesús Bueno scored the decisive attempt in the five-round shootout after the Union let a late 2-0 lead over Chicago slip away in regulation.
After playing to a 2-2 draw in regulation, the Union claimed a 1-0 series lead in their first-round playoff matchup against the Chicago Fire with a 4-2 penalty-shootout win Sunday night at Subaru Park. Jesús Bueno scored the decisive attempt in the five-round shootout.
Indiana Vassilev and Milan Iloski scored second-half goals in quick succession to open the scoring. Vassilev scored from a Mikael Uhre cross in the 70th minute, and Iloski added a second goal in the 75th minute off a feed from Tai Baribo. The Union struggled to place shots on target throughout the first half.
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Chicago answered the Union with its own pair of goals in the final 15 minutes of the match. Jonathan Bamba bested Andre Blake in the 84th minute to cut the Union’s lead to one, and former Union player Jack Elliott scored in the 93rd minute to level the score at 2.
The Union had scoring chances during the remaining portion of stoppage time, but could not find the back of the net again in regulation.
In playoff matches before the MLS Cup Final, the league’s rule book opts to decide tied games through a penalty shootout, rather than extra time.
Chicago goalie Chris Brady saved the Union’s first penalty kick, diving to his right to stop Uhre’s shot. Blake responded with a save of his own, denying Elliott.
“Jack [Elliott] takes great penalties,” Blake said. “I happened to guess right, and I was there to make the save. I’m just grateful for that.”
Frankie Westfield converted his attempt to get the Union on the board, but Brian Gutierrez brought the Fire even with a shootout goal of his own. Iloski made the Union’s third attempt, and Hugo Cuypers answered after scoring past Blake to level the shootout at 2. Baribo made the Union’s fourth penalty kick and Joel Waterman hit the Fire’s fourth shot off the crossbar, leaving the Union up, 3-2, after four rounds.
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Bueno stepped up and converted the decisive penalty to give the Union a 4-2 shootout win.
“I was a little nervous for the penalty kick,” Bueno said through a translator. “But when Blake gave me the ball, I just looked at him in the eye and we laughed. We knew that everything was going to be OK.”
The Union’s pair of goals in regulation came shortly after Bradley Carnell made substitutions in the 64th minute. Carnell sent Westfield for Nathan Harriel and Uhre for Bruno Damiani. The Union outshot Chicago, 16-13, but Vassilev’s 70th-minute goal was the first shot on target for the Union.
“We worked in transition,” Carnell said. “We showed what we can do. We created chaos moments. We took the opportunities when they came. Just unfortunate the way we give up two moments. … We were excited about the full game.”
The match was physical, with 20 fouls issued between the two teams. The Fire’s Sergio Oregel was issued a red card in the 94th minute, and will be unavailable for Game 2.
“They got what they wanted — penalties,” Carnell added. “I’m glad that we came through on the other side.”
Playoff push
With their win over the Fire, the Union can advance to the semifinals by winning Game 2 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Ill., on Saturday (5:30 p.m., Apple TV+). The Union claimed a 1-0 win over the Fire in their lone regular-season trip to Chicago. If the Fire win on Saturday, the two teams will play a decisive Game 3 at Subaru Park on Nov. 8.