Chicago Fire backup goalie Jeff Gal had one night to sleep on the fact that he would be starting Saturday’s win-or-go-home game against the Philadelphia Union.

Starting goalie Chris Brady came down with a lower leg injury Friday, leaving the Bartlett native Gal to start the second game of the best-of-three, first-round MLS Cup playoff series with the season on the line .

The Union did what any good team would do: put pressure on Gal early and often. It resulted in a 3-0 win, advancing Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Fire’s most successful season since 2017 came to a close in front of 17.431 fans at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.

Gal turned the ball over trying to clear it out of the box in the 8th minute, and Union leading scorer Tai Baribo stole it and punched

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