The 2025 Major League Soccer playoffs are underway.
16 of the top teams in the league—eight each from the Eastern and Western conferences—entered the postseason with the hope of lifting the 2025 MLS Cup. But as the seeded best-of-three first round playoff matchups head into their final stretch, several teams have pushed toward the Conference semifinals while others have dropped out of contention.
Here’s where the Eastern Conference stands after two of a possible three round one game days.
Advancing: Philadelphia Union
Philadelphia made light work of the first round of the playoffs. The 2025 Supporters’ Shield winner beat the Chicago Fire handily in consecutive matches to become the only Eastern Conference team to clinch its semifinal spot in two appearances.
The first match was a testy 2-2 draw settled on penalties, but the second was an almighty 3-0 blowout. Striker Tai Baribo scored a quick first half brace to set the tone.
“We knew that today they would come to press high, come to play because they are in front of their fans,” Baribo explained, via Jose Nunez of the MLS website. “We knew that the team that would score first would probably be the team to win the game. So this is what we did.”
Baribo’s two goals were his first for Philadelphia in over two months. But it wasn’t just Baribo breaking into a hot run of form against Chicago. His striking partner Bruno Damiani found the back of the net, too.