Wisconsin Soccer Central

Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) provided instant offense for the Columbus Crew on Saturday night – and got to celebrate a personal milestone at the same time.

Finlay scored his first Major League Soccer goal in the 81st minute, less than a minute after coming into the match, as the visiting Crew played out a wild 3-3 draw with the 10-man Portland Timbers.

Half of the game's six goals came in the final 10 minutes. Will Johnson pulled the home side level at 2 in the 80th minute, but Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter brought on Finlay and the third-year pro made the move look great moments later.

Taking a pass from Federico Higuain on the right side, Finlay worked around Timbers left back Jorge Villafaña toward the middle and unleashed a left-footed shot from just inside the box that deflected off center back Futty Danso and past goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts to give the Crew a 3-2 lead.

It was the seventh appearance of the season for the 23-year-old Finlay – all coming off the bench – and his 41st MLS game. After the game, he said Berhalter and assistant Josh Wolff told him that there was space to be had on the right side.

“Federico found me early, and they have been really pushing me to attack guys late in the game. Some of those guys had already been in the game 20-30 minutes and (I) tried to take advantage of it," said Finlay, a former Creighton standout who also scored for the Crew in the MLS Reserve League last year. "(I) tried to go at the guy and cut inside on my left. I tried to play it to the far post and got fortunate with the deflection. You know, you take them if they’re pretty or ugly."

On Twitter: @EthanFinlay13

• Andrew Stone (Green Bay Preble/UW-Milwaukee) made his pro debut Saturday, playing the full 90 minutes as Indy Eleven lost to the Ottawa Fury 4-2 in a North American Soccer League match Saturday in Indianapolis. The 23-year-old, who was an unused sub in each of the team's first five games, played at right back for Indy (0-4-2).
• Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East/UW-Green Bay) has started the past seven matches for the Rochester Rhinos, and the USL PRO team has gone 4-0-3 in that span. The latest victory was 1-0 at the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday, the fourth shutout with Walls in the starting XI – the Rhinos have allowed just three goals in the last 660 minutes. On Wednesday, Rochester outlasted USL Premier Development League side Western Mass Pioneers 2-1 after extra time in the second round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Walls played the full 90 minutes, while J.C. Banks (Milwaukee Riverside/UW-Green Bay) came off the bench and assisted on the opening goal in the 111th minute. The Rhinos advance to play Reading United AC, another PDL club, in the third round May 27. On Twitter: @TWalls20 @JCBanks11
• Alex Horwath (UW) made five saves in his fourth shutout of the year as Ljungskile SK routed 10-man Ängelholms FF 5-0 in a second-tier Superettan match Monday night in Sweden. Aaron Nichols (UW) played the final 12 minutes for Ljungskile (4-2-2), which led 2-0 and added three second-half goals after Ängelholms center back Fredrik Lundgren was sent off in the 43rd. Matt Pyzdrowski (Marquette) turned aside 10 shots in the loss, while Eric Pothast (Marquette) played the full 90 at center back for Ängelholms (2-4-2). On Twitter: @AlexHorwath @MattPyzdrowski @Eric_Pothast
• Michele Dalton (UW) posted her second straight clean sheet – and third of the season – as Kvarnsvedens IK continued its excellent start to the Elitettan season with a 1-0 victory over host Sunnanå SK on Saturday in Sweden. Kvarnsvedens (5-1-0) is second in the 14-team second division and Dalton has allowed just four goals. On Twitter: @MicheleDalton18