Chicago claims 100th franchise win with clean 18-16 victory over Madison

Chicago’s 100th franchise win came in the kind of game contenders are supposed to win: no panic, no chaos, just an 18-16 control job over Madison built on 288 completions in 299 throws and a 96 percent passing rate. Cullen Baker started the scoring with a 74-yard dime to Ben Preiss, the man-on-man defense forced a quick turnover, and Greg Moreno fed Ben Brink for another break as the Union stacked four straight goals and rolled out to a 7-2 lead after the first quarter.

That opening burst never really disappeared. Ben Zhang made a sharp catch in the far right corner to open the second quarter, Chicago turned another Madison turnover straight into a score, and the Union kept the margin in a range they managed comfortably. Madison trimmed the gap at points, but Chicago never let the Radicals turn the game into a sprint. By halftime, the Union had stretched the lead to 10-5, and the stat sheet tracked the same story: Chicago finished with seven blocks to Madison’s three and limited its own turnovers to 11.

Pawel Janas was at the center of it again, finishing with three goals and three assists, accounting for a third of Chicago’s scoring. Anthony Gutowsky was held to one goal, another sign that Chicago’s defense did not need to overwhelm Madison to tilt the game. It just had to force a few extra possessions and keep the offense in rhythm, and that is exactly what happened as the Union protected field position and stayed composed whenever Madison tried to chip away.

The win landed as more than a milestone. Chicago first played in 2013, owns an all-time regular season record of 96-61-1 and an all-time postseason mark of 3-9, and has Central Division titles from 2013, 2021 and 2022. The Union also ran through a perfect 12-0 regular season in 2025 before falling to Minnesota 19-17 in the Central Division Championship, which is why this 100th victory says as much about the ceiling as the history. Von Alanguilan framed Madison the right way in an earlier meeting: “Madison is always good and always competes,” and Chicago won by “limit[ing] mistakes and match[ing] their energy.” That formula traveled here, too, and it looked like the version of the Union built for playoff pressure.