Wisconsin Soccer Central

With seven matches remaining in the Superettan season, Alex Horwath (UW) and Ljungskile SK control their own destiny.

Horwath made five saves in his 10th clean sheet of the season as host Ljungskile blanked Assyriska FF 1-0 on Saturday and took over the top spot in Sweden's second division.

Ljungskile (12-2-9) has 45 points, one ahead of Hammarby (13-5-5) and GIF Sundsvall (14-2-7) atop the 16-team league. The top two finishers in the Superettan earn promotion to the top-tier Allsvenskan for the 2015 season, while the third-place team will play in a promotion playoff series.

Horwath has played every minute in goal during Superettan play for Ljungskile, which has allowed a league-low 19 goals in 23 matches. Aaron Nichols (UW) came on at halftime for the home side in Saturday's victory.

Ljungskile, which hasn't played in the Allsvenskan since 2008, faces one of the other title contenders during its run-in – they play host to GIF Sundsvall on Sept. 25.

On Twitter: @AlexHorwath

• James Weber (Hartford) converted an 89th-minute penalty, his second goal of the match, to give host Gullringens GOIF a 3-2 victory over Söderköpings IK in a Division 3 Nordöstra Götaland game Saturday in Sweden. Weber, who opened the scoring in the 7th minute, is tied for fifth in the league with nine goals despite having played only seven matches. Gullringens (9-7-3) is 5-1-1 with Weber in the lineup and has moved up to seventh in the 12-team fifth-division league with three games left. Weber, who re-signed with the Milwaukee Wave of the Major Arena Soccer League before heading to Sweden in July, has 28 goals in 31 appearances for Gullringens over the past three years. On Twitter: @TheJamesWeber
• Andrija Novakovich (Muskego) set up the first goal, then drew and converted a penalty kick to lead Reading to a 2-1 victory over visiting Brighton & Hove Albion in a Premier League Under-18 match Saturday in England. Novakovich played a square ball to Sam Smith to open the scoring in the 12th minute and finished from the spot as the home side took a 2-0 halftime lead. On Twitter: @AndrijaNovakov3

• Calum Mallace (Marquette) scored his first Major League Soccer goal Saturday night, but it wasn't enough as the Montreal Impact lost to the New England Revolution 2-1 in Foxborough, Mass. Jack McInerney got free on the left side and found Mallace alone near the penalty spot, and the third-year pro slotted past Revolution keeper Bobby Shuttleworth to cap a counter attack and put the visitors ahead in the 13th minute. (Watch the goal below) After the game, Mallace drew the ire of Revolution and U.S. national team midfielder Jermaine Jones, who accused the 24-year-old of trying to injure him. (Read full article) On Twitter: @CMallace10

• Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) headed in the 54th-minute equalizer, capping a comeback as the Columbus Crew tied the host Houston Dynamo 2-2 on Saturday night. The Crew fell behind 2-0 after 38 minutes but Wil Trapp pulled one back in the 48th, and Finlay was wide open at the top of the 6 and headed in a cross from left back Waylon Francis as Columbus earned a point. (Watch the goal below) It was Finlay's seventh goal of the season, tied for second on the team and tied for 29th in MLS. On Twitter: @EthanFinlay13

• JC Banks (Milwaukee Riverside/UW-Green Bay) scored the opener and nearly came up with a stoppage-time equalizer, but the Rochester Rhinos lost to LA Galaxy II 2-1 in a USL PRO quarterfinal Saturday night in Carson, Calif. Banks gave the visitors the lead in the 22nd, getting onto a ball from Alex Dixon over the Galaxy II backline and clipping a shot past keeper Brian Perk that bounced off the underside of the crossbar and into the net – it was his 10th goal in 30 appearances in all competitions this year. The home side equalized in the 29th and went ahead in the 62nd, then held on despite being reduced to 10 men for the final 25 minutes. Perk preserved the lead in the final moments, diving to deny Banks' drive on a free kick from just outside the box that looked headed for the lower left corner. Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East/UW-Green Bay) joined Banks in playing all 90 minutes for the Rhinos, who finished the season 10-11-8 overall. The Galaxy II advanced to play Sacramento Republic FC in the semifinals next Saturday, with a spot in the USL PRO final on the line. On Twitter: @jcbanks11 @TWalls20
• Former Madison 56ers forward Carlos McCrary scored his first professional goal on Sept. 5 as FCA 04 Darmstadt blanked host SC Hessen Dreieich 4-0 for its first win of the season in Germany's Verbandsliga Hessen-Süd. McCrary gave the visitors a 2-0 lead in the sixth-division match with his goal in the 76th minute, 9 minutes after coming on as a sub. He started and played 88 minutes Sunday in a 1-1 home draw against FV Bad Vilbel for Darmstadt (1-2-3), which is 13th in the 17-team league. Ryan Onwukwe (UW-Milwaukee), another former 56ers player, is the team's backup goalkeeper but hasn't yet appeared in a game. On Twitter: @CarlosMcCrary @OnkBiggs