Wisconsin Soccer Central

J.C. Banks (Milwaukee Riverside/UW-Green Bay) is back in action.

The 23-year-old Banks made his return from a torn ACL in his right knee on Friday night, playing the final 11 minutes of the Rochester Rhinos' 1-0 victory over the host Wilmington Hammerheads in USL PRO action.

Banks led USL PRO with eight assists and ranked fifth in the league with 22 points in 22 matches last year in his second season with the Rhinos.

However, he suffered a knee injury in July that was diagnosed as a torn ACL in August. He had reconstructive knee surgery in September, and was recently cleared to return to the field.

"J.C. was a key part of our attack last season, and his return comes at a crucial time in our season," Rochester coach Jesse Myers said in a news release Thursday. "To be fair to J.C., he's been out since last August so he's not match fit right now. ... He is going to start to get minutes in league matches as he continues to recover from his injury."

Banks was a first-team All-USL PRO selection and the Rhinos' team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2012, after being named the club's Rookie of the Year in 2011. He's recorded a goal or an assist in 19 matches in his professional career, and Rochester is 16-1-2 in those games.

Friday's win was the first of the season for the Rhinos (1-5-1), who moved ahead of Wilmington into 11th place in the 13-team league.

• Andrew Ribeiro (Green Bay Notre Dame) picked up his first assist as a professional as the Harrisburg City Islanders routed winless Antigua Barracuda FC 4-0 in USL PRO play Friday night. Ribeiro came off the bench in the 36th minute and slipped a pass to Sainey Touray that he finished to make it 3-0 in the 68th for the City Islanders (5-1-0), who are one point out of first place in the league standings.
• James Weber (Hartford) keeps scoring for Swedish fifth-division side Gullringens GOIF, netting his fourth goal in as many games this season in a 3-2 win over visiting IK Tord in a Division 3 Nordöstra Götaland match Wednesday. His goal in the 37th minute gave the home side a 2-1 lead and they went on to bounce back from their first loss. Weber is tied for third in the league in goals heading into this weekend's play and has scored 13 times in 14 games since joining the club last July.
• The Major League Soccer Players Union released the season's first listing of player salaries. Vancouver Whitecaps defender Jay DeMerit (Green Bay/Bay Port), who has been out since suffering a torn left Achilles tendon in the season opener, tops the quartet of Wisconsin players in MLS with a $325,000 base salary and $375,000 in average guaranteed compensation. Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) of the Columbus Crew and Calum Mallace (Marquette) of the Montreal Impact, both second-year midfielders, have the same salaries – $47,300 base and $62,300 average guaranteed compensation. Second-year Chivas USA goalkeeper Patrick McLain (Eau Claire Memorial) is making $46,500 this season, up from the league-minimum $33,750 he was paid last season. Complete MLS salary lists
• McLain is expected to make his first MLS start Sunday when Chivas USA plays at the Portland Timbers. The 24-year-old was thrown into the fire in his professional debut last Sunday, coming on to face a penalty kick after starter Dan Kennedy was sent off in the 54th minute. He ended up allowing the final three goals in a 4-0 loss at Sporting Kansas City. "It was overall a good experience," McLain told the team's website. "It wasn't an ideal situation to come into, but I feel that the things I could control, I controlled.  It was unfortunate about the goals and at this point, I’m just looking forward to this weekend and to trying to help our team pick up three points." Chivas USA's goalkeeper coach is Daniel Gonzalez, who was the coaching director at Middleton-Yahara SC (now Wisconsin Rush) from 2005 to '08.
• Michele Dalton (UW) posted a clean sheet Tuesday in her debut for Icelandic club UMF Selfoss, which beat host Þróttur Reykjavík 2-0 in its Úrvalsdeild season opener.