Chester, PA – On a night when a big performance was needed, the Philadelphia Union turned Subaru Park into a fortress once again, dismantling the Chicago Fire 4-0 in front of a raucous home crowd. From the opening whistle, the Union’s relentless press and sharp finishing set the tone, with Tai Baribo, Kai Wagner, Danley Jean Jacques, and newcomer Milan Iloski all finding the scoresheet. The victory not only extended Philadelphia’s unbeaten run at home against Chicago to 14 straight matches but also vaulted them back to the top of both the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings.
“I’ve seen a lot of good games this year,” said Union head coach Bradley Carnell post match, “and I think this is amongst one of the best games that I’ve seen, not just this year, but as a coach in general- really proud of the guys.”
“Guys took it to heart last week,” Carnell added. “You know, I don’t think we played badly. I just think that, yeah, the guys were determined to sort of tighten the screw and show a bit of a response here tonight. And I think, you know, credit to the boys. They showed the response. Really happy about the way they went at it, not focusing on what’s happening next month, next week, focusing on right in this present moment.”
A few switches were made by Union head coach Bradley Carnell prior to the evening’s match. Union II goalkeeper Pierce Holbrook received his first-team call-up on a short-term loan and was slated to back up Andrew Rick in net.
However, during warmups, the young goalkeeper suffered an injury and had to be carried off the field by trainers. While the club has not issued an official statement on the severity or recovery timeline, both the players and Carnell dedicated the clean sheet and victory to their teammate.
“It hurts a lot to see that, it’s really tough for me,” said Union goalkeeper Andrew Rick. “I’ve had the pleasure of training with him now for a few months. He’s a really great guy, and he works really hard. So for him to get this opportunity, and it to end like that, it’s really tough. And, this clean sheet isn’t just me, it’s also him and Phil [Wheddon] as well, and Mike [Sheridan], like, we all work together and push each other. So the work that he does on the training field, along with everybody else, like, helps me and seeing him go down, it just gives us all that extra motivation to win this game. Get a clean sheet for him.”
Other changes from last Saturday included Frankie Westfield returning to the starting eleven and Milan Iloski stepping into the midfield for Indiana Vassilev, who remained out with a head injury.
On the homegrown right back’s performance, Westfield did a particularly good job of limiting Chicago’s Jonathan Bamba’s creativity and ability to get into space, something Carnell praised—along with fellow left back Kai Wagner.
“Really good,” Carnell said of Westfield. “I think even Kai, you know, both of the outside backs to to shut those guys down for 90 minutes is a tough ask. And then they bring some speed on the last line with Tom Barlow and what have you. And you know, just to the body checks, the, you know, seeing balls run out of bounds, and just to have the attitude and the positive arrogance of what it means to play here in Philly, with the fans behind our back here at Subaru Park and teams feel that, the opponent feels that, every player I speak to after the games, and it’s not just now that they know how tough this place is, and that’s kind of what we pride ourselves on, just being tenacious, showing the passion, what it means. And then that galvanizes us. It brings us together in order for the clean sheet and three points.”
Outside of that, the rest of the starting lineup was consistent with Carnell’s choices through the first 27 matches of the season.
The Union started the match as they have all year, pressing from the opening whistle. Bruno Damiani’s pressure forced former Union center back Jack Elliott into a misplay, sending the ball directly to Tai Baribo, who couldn’t settle it in time and sent his shot over the net. Baribo would have another chance moments later, but again sent the attempt wide.
Philadelphia continued to press Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady, forcing him into difficult clearances. The Union didn’t register their first shot on target until around the 13th minute, but they kept the Fire at bay. Chicago’s best look came when Jonathan Bamba’s deflected strike forced Rick to stretch out and push the ball over the crossbar.
The Union’s best chance of the half came during a scramble in front of the net, with both teams fighting for control before Christopher Cupps cleared the danger for Chicago, keeping the score level.
Tai Baribo broke the deadlock in the 34th minute, finishing off a cross from Kai Wagner to put Philadelphia up 1-0. It was Baribo’s 16th goal of the season and Wagner’s 10th assist.
Chicago nearly answered before halftime when Brian Gutierrez ripped a shot from outside the box, forcing Rick into a dive, but the attempt sailed just over the net as the half closed.
The Fire came out strong after the break. First, a clearance from Rick ricocheted off a Chicago player before Olwethu Makhanya cleared the danger. Minutes later, Sergio Oregel rattled the post with a shot that could have changed the complexion of the match had it gone in.
Instead, the Union doubled their lead. Kai Wagner delivered Philadelphia’s 17th set-piece goal of the season and his second goal of the year, thanks to Milan Iloski’s first assist as a Union player. The goal provided breathing room and shifted momentum.
IIoski would speak to the media post match as share what went into that goal.
“We were looking down and thought, you know, okay, like, I was probably just gonna hit it directly, because the wall would be placed on the left side. But then we looked up and we were like, ‘What in the world are they doing?’ So we kind of called a little audible. And Kai was like, just roll it to the side a little bit. And I was like, yeah, there was a big gap for him. Just hit it back across on the ground. So, you know, I’ll give Kai the credit there for calling a little audible. And it worked out. So there’s a big, awesome moment in the game to go up another one and really put it away.”
Nine minutes later, Danley Jean Jacques added his third goal of the season on a loose ball inside the box sent in by Westfield, finishing beautifully to make it 3-0.
Iloski capped off his stellar night with his first league goal—and second overall for Philadelphia—in the 80th minute, finishing off a deflected feed from Cavan Sullivan to put the Union up 4-0.
Milan shared post match with us some of his journey in soccer and how it has impacted him in his career to date, and how he almost walked away from the pitch all together.
“When I left Salt Lake, and I didn’t play at all, and there was Covid and all this stuff, I didn’t really want to play soccer anymore. I went to Orange County, just like, I wanted to have fun. And I only went there because my brother was there and I was closer to home. And I was a little bit fed up with the politics of soccer and how things went and, you know, so for me, every day is something I’m grateful for. And I’m so lucky to do this job. I love it more than anything. I’ve loved since I was a little kid. So I think now for me, it’s just enjoying it, taking it day by day. And I’m so grateful to people in my life that have helped me get to here. And, you know, for me now, I just want to keep pushing and take advantage of the chances I’m given.”
Philadelphia closed out the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time to secure three critical points against a red-hot Chicago squad while also giving Andrew Rick his fifth clean sheet of the season, tying him with Andre Blake. The Union now boast 10 clean sheets in 2025.
For Rick, the performance was a welcome bounce-back after a rough stretch with Union II, where he admitted his play had not met expectations.
“I think mistakes, as much as I hate making mistakes, like, sometimes it’s kind of a wake up call. I’m grateful that I made the mistake in MLS Next Pro and not MLS because it’s a higher stage. And I’m very fortunate with the Union II coaching staff in that they really helped me gain my confidence back, along with the first team coaching staff. You know, it was a rough few games for me there, and so to get this clean sheet now tonight, it gives me a lot of confidence, and just got to keep building on.”
Looking ahead, with Holbrook injured and Blake still absent, Carnell may need to rely on Union II backup Mike Sheridan or potentially explore hardship roster rules to bolster goalkeeper depth, especially after loaning out Oliver Semmle earlier in the week.
With the win, Philadelphia extended their unbeaten home streak against Chicago to 14 matches. Combined with FC Cincinnati’s loss to NYCFC and San Diego FC’s draw with Portland, the Union reclaimed the top spot in both the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings.
Philadelphia now faces three big road contests—at Cincinnati, at Vancouver, and in the U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Nashville, who enter on a hot streak after defeating Orlando City 5-1.
But as Milan IIoski said of his new club, they are easy to play with and play for.
“The group is like, really tight-knit. I mean, you know, a lot of teams in MLS, I don’t think they are like that. And so for me, coming in, you can feel it right away. The team competes so hard in training every day, from everyone in the roster, no matter who you are, everyone’s got the same responsibility. And you know, guys like Kai and Jakob are pushing the group on a Wednesday when, you know they don’t have to, and to see that as a player coming in, it sets a level, then you see guys like Cavan and other second team players, or guys maybe aren’t playing, they’re also pushing a level. So the whole group makes it easy to want to compete with and want to play with.”
Philadelphia returns on the road next Saturday as they head to TQL Stadium for a big Eastern Conference match with FC Cincinnati on Saturday at 7:30pm with Supporter Shield and playoff seeding at stake. The match will be available on Apple TV+ as part of the MLS Season Pass.
Main Article Photo Courtesy of the Philadelphia Union
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