A battle for a home playoff match hangs in the balance as Philadelphia Union II welcomes Chicago Fire II to Subaru Park on Sunday afternoon. Tickets for the big clash can be purchase online here.
Sunday's match sees the No. 3 seed Union II taking on the No. 4 seed Chicago with three points seperating the two sides with three games remaining. The Boys in Blue enter the match riding high after picking up their second-straight win in Ohio via a 2-1 result over Columbus Crew 2. The defending Eastern Conference Champions jumped out strong to put the contest away early as Stas Korzeniowski and Markus Anderson scored inside the first 15 minutes to give the Boys in Blue the lead. After Columbus trimmed the deficit to a single goal late in the match, Academy amateur Jamir Johnson re-established the two-goal lead with a stoppage time finish to earn the three points via a 3-1 scoreline.
The two teams are squaring off for the second time in just over a month with Union II looking to avenge a 2-0 road loss to the Fire back on August 15th. The Boys in Blue outshoot Chicago by a 21-10 margin and had seven shots on target but couldn't sneak one past 16-year-old keeper David Molenda. Sunday's match pits iron against iron as Chicago comes into the match with the second-best offense that has amassed 62 goals in 25 matches while Union II sports the best defense with only 28 goals conceeded in 2025.
Chicago comes to Chester, PA., off a double matchweek which proved to be and up-and-down affair for the Windy City squad. They clinched their postseason berth with a 2-1 win over FC Cincinnati 2 but ended up falling to New York City FC II by a 5-4 margin on an 89th-minute finish. Despite the setback, Chicago's offense has only gotten stronger with the return of 2024 MLS NEXT Pro MVP David Poreba to the lineup after he suffered a knee injury earlier this year. Jason Shokalook has taken the reigns for the scoring load with 15 goals including a hat trick last time out against NYCFC II.
