Union forward Milan Iloski, right, celebrates his goal in the Aug. 23 win over Chicago as Fire midfielder Jonathan Dean looks on at Subaru Park. (Courtesy of Philadelphia Union) Courtesy Philadelphia Union
For 34 weeks, the Philadelphia Union have been the best team in MLS.
If they can continue that for five more weeks, they can lift the franchise’s ultimate prize.
The Union’s quest for MLS Cup begins Sunday when the Supporters’ Shield winner hosts the Chicago Fire in Game 1 of the opening-round best-of-3 playoff series. The Union are the top seed and own home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
The Shield, clinched on Oct. 4, is the club’s second trophy. But the Union remains in search of its first MLS Cup, the most coveted American competition. The Shield win require opponents to travel to Chester throughout the playoffs, in a league where home-field advantage is massive.
Having a trophy in hand is, for coach Bradley Carnell, a platform to push for more.
“I think the guys have been driving from January to make sure that they get themselves into this spot,” Carnell said. “Now we're in this spot. Let's go out and enjoy it. We have silverware already this season, so let's go and do it.”
Carnell said he’s seen “urgency, competition and feistiness” from his group this week, no different than it’s been all season. If anything, it’s heightened by what defender Jakob Glesnes called “a reality check” of a 2-0 loss to Charlotte in the regular-season finale.
Carnell isn’t surprised, since he’s preached consistency all season. First and foremost, that’s been in the steady level of competition in training, which the new trophy hasn’t altered.
“The mentality from the start to now has been insane,” Glesnes said. “So I think we've just been keeping pushing the last couple of weeks. And of course, everyone watched the game on Wednesday, so everyone should be excited for what's coming on Sunday.”
A look at what’s ahead for the Union in the playoffs:
The Union and Fire will play a best-of-3. Game 1 is Sunday night at 5:30 (Apple TV/FS1) at Subaru Park. Game 2 is next Sunday in Chicago. A Game 3, if necessary, would take place Nov. 8.
All matches in the first round go directly to penalty kicks if tied after 90 minutes. Each will have a winner.
All playoff games after the best-of-3 are one-off affairs. The series winner advances to the Eastern Conference semifinal against the winner of the best-of-3 between No. 4 Charlotte and No. 5 New York City FC. The Union would host that round, as well as the conference final and MLS Cup final.
The Union are 6-8-2 all-time in the playoffs. (Games that go to shootouts count officially as draws; the Union have won one and lost one shootout.) They are 5-3-1 all-time in home playoff games and 4-1-1 since 2021. They advanced in the draw after PKs against Nashville in 2022. The loss was the 2021 East final in which the Union were missing 10 regulars due to COVID-19 testing.
This is the third season of MLS’s best-of-3 first round, the latest playoff format shuffle that has included a best-of-3 points system and two-leg home-and-aways. (The history is wild.)
But … in each of the first two years, a No. 1 seed has bowed out in the first round. Last year, Shield winner Inter Miami lost a best-of-3 to No. 9 Atlanta United. In 2023, a Carnell-coached St. Louis City FC won the West, then got dumped in two games by No. 8 Sporting Kansas City.
To the larger history question, only two of the last 13 Shield winners went on to add MLS Cup. LAFC did it in 2022, beating the Union in penalty kicks in the final. Toronto did the double in 2017.
Six of the 13 failed to win their first-round playoff matchup, a group that includes the Union in 2020, who lost to New England in the opening round.
The Union defeated the Fire in both meetings, part of a general domination of clubs outside of the top four. On June 25, the Union won 1-0 at Soldier Field, Bruno Damiani scoring a penalty in the 10th minute, setting the stage for 80 minutes of unmemorable, dour stalemate.
The Aug. 23 return leg was more eventful, a 4-0 throttling. Milan Iloski and Kai Wagner provided a goal and an assist each. Danley Jean Jacques and Tai Baribo scored, for Baribo the last of his team-high 16 goals.
Andrew Rick was in goal for both games, with Andre Blake away on international duty for the first and injured in the second. Rick made three saves total in consecutive clean sheets.
Chicago provided one of the low points for the Union in 2024. On July 3, the Union led 3-1 in the 80th minute at Soldier Field before Hugo Cuypers scored in the 82nd, Gaston Gimenez in the 89th, then Cuypers in the first minute of stoppage time for a 4-3 Fire win.
The Fire are not what you may expect from an eighth-place team. They won 15 games this year and were 9-6-2 on the road. Their 53 points would’ve been fourth in the East last year.
Gregg Berhalter, in his second year in charge, has them in the postseason for the first time since 2017. Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Orlando City in the Wild Card game was the first Fire playoff win since 2009.
They have a high-powered attack led by Cuypers, who scored 17 goals this season and has 27 in two seasons in MLS. Philip Zinckernagel finished with 15 goals and 15 assists, the Danish midfielder a finalist for Newcomer of the Year. Jonathan Bamba is an Ivory Coast international with European experience who came over on a reported $3.5 million fee.
Berhalter remains devoted to the positional soccer that was so frustrating in his stint with the U.S. national team. But it’s brought out a lot of strengths within the Fire. They’ve played with four defenders and with five, which presents a tactical challenge. Among those backline pieces is Jack Elliott, who was selected in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft by the Union and stands third in club history in appearances.
“The more you focus on somebody else, it means you're taking less about what you can impact and influence,” Carnell said of the scouting challenge. “We like to think about us and our environment and how we can impact change, and that's why I work in principles mostly. For sure, there's tactical nuances about that – if they’re in a five or a four, and the principles don't change.”
