Oct 26, 2025; Chester, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Union midfielder Jesus Bueno (8) celebrates after defeating the Chicago Fire in a penalty kick shootout at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images James Lang
CHESTER – It took until the conversation in the huddle after 90 minutes had elapsed Sunday for the plan to fully crystallize.
The Philadelphia Union, as they do every week before a game that might require it, practiced penalty kicks ahead of Game 1 of the best-of-3 first-round series in the MLS Cup playoffs. Coach Bradley Carnell had a framework in mind of who might shoot if a shootout occurred, but a hard-and-fast hierarchy is impossible, needing to adapt to who is available when kicks arrive.
As Carnell sketched out the plan with his players, defender Frankie Westfield piped up to remind the coach about the intel on Jesus Bueno.
“While we were standing there in the huddle with the staff, Frankie said to me, oh, in the League's Cup, he’s solid at number five,” Carnell said. “And I said, perfect. Let's do it.”
Bueno’s penalty kick in the fifth round of the shootout led the Union to a win in Game 1, 2-2 (4-2 on PKs). It solidified Bueno’s place in that most specialist of roles, as the Union’s fifth PK taker.
Chuchu to seal it! 🫨#DOOP pic.twitter.com/JeT39QmlXR
Bueno is 4-for-4 all-time on penalties. Each time, it’s come as the fifth shooter. Sunday is the third time he’s won a shootout, and the Union are 4-0 when he gets an attempt.
“That's his blessing, I guess,” said goalie Andre Blake, who came up with one stop in the shootout. “He's really calm, and you need to be calm in these moments. He's very confident. He wants to be the fifth taker, and he's pretty good at what he does. So credit to him for stepping up in big moments like these.”
Bueno ties Vincent Nogueira for both the second-most conversions and second-most makes without a miss in club history. Only Jake Elliott’s perfect 7-for-7 is better … and of course it was Elliott, whose 90-plus-3 equalizer sent the game to spot kicks, missing in the first round for Chicago, because MLS.
Bueno’s attempt was cool as you like. He stepped to the spot, sent Chicago goalie Chris Brady diving the wrong way and slotted home to send the Union to Chicago next Saturday with a chance to close out the best-of-3 despite letting a two-goal lead slip in the final 10 minutes.
“I was a little nervous for the penalty kick,” Bueno said via a translator. “But when Blake gave me the ball, I just looked at him in the eye and we laughed and we knew that everything was going to be OK.”
Bueno is not what you would call a goal scorer. The Venezuelan central midfielder has four career MLS goals in just over 2,500 minutes across his five seasons, including one goal in 903 minutes this year. He went on a tear in the Leagues Cup in 2023, with two goals and three assists in seven games, so he’s capable of more when given the chance.
That tournament also saw the emergence of this specialized skillset. In the Round of 32 against D.C. United, Bueno converted a do-or-die fifth attempt. Pedro Santos hit the post in the first sudden death round, and Olivier Mbaizo won it.
Bueno helped the Union walk off with the win five days later in the fifth round against New York Red Bulls. Against Mexican club Mazatlan in the quarterfinals in 2024, Bueno won it after short-lived Union experiment Sam Adeniran struck the post.
Sunday’s effort was the biggest by some distance. But it’s the same mentality – Bueno described it in 2023 after the D.C. shootout as, “I wanted to be the last man.”
“You could just feel the confidence of him,” Carnell said. “He wanted to take that one at five.”
Five is a special role in the shootout. You want someone who can handle the pressure of the last round. But you don’t want to save your best, with a risk that he might go unused if lesser shooters fail to covert early.
Penalties do strange things to players. Daniel Gazdag was automatic on penalty kicks in game action with the Union, converting 23 of 24. He was 1-for-5 in shootouts. Kai Wagner is one of the best ball strikers in the league with his left foot; he’s 0-for-2 on PKs, including a miss in MLS Cup final in 2022. Sunday, the Union left him on the sidelines, needing one guy to sit out to even up 10-man Chicago after Sergio Oregel’s red card.
Bueno lives at the other extreme. He’s technical at the spot, but more than that, he’s up for the moment. It’s a helpful add-on to someone who is often a late-game sub to help defend leads, though that didn’t quite work Sunday.
While penalties isn’t exactly a flip of the coin, the Union’s all-time results look it. They’re 9-8 in shootouts in all competitions. Blake is 5-5 all-time. One of MLS’s best ever goalies, he’s not renowned as a PK-stopping star, though Sunday was a solid performance. He denied Elliott, got his hands to Brian Gutierrez’s attempt before it went in and probably weighed on the mind of Joel Waterman as the center back clanged the crossbar.
The Union are 2-1 in MLS Cup playoff shootouts, though the loss is the biggest of all, in the 2022 final.
Bueno’ specialization in such a discreet role is a useful asset in such a small-margined area of the game.
“The confidence that my coaches put in me gives me motivation,” he said. “Everything has been great so far, so we hope we keep going.”
