Wisconsin Soccer Central

Matt Pyzdrowski (Marquette) is making the move to the top division in Swedish soccer, but the goalkeeper won't have to travel very far to do so.

Pyzdrowski signed with Helsingborgs IF on Wednesday, joining the Allsvenskan club after four seasons at second-division Ängelholms FF  – the cities are separated by approximately 25 miles on Sweden's southern coast.

The 28-year-old Illinois native will battle Pär Hansson for the starting sport at Helsingborgs, which went 10-11-9 and finished ninth in the 16-team Allsvenskan last season. Hansson, who also is 28, has been the team's starter for the past seven years.

"He deserves to be called No. 1," Pyzdrowski told the Helsingborgs Dagblad. (Read full article in Swedish) "He has done very, very well for the club. I respect that. But my job as an athlete is all about doing everything I can to get the coach to change his mind."

That coach is former Swedish national team player Henrik Larsson, who was a legend at Scottish club Celtic during his playing career.

He was named manager at Helsingborgs in November, leaving fellow Allsvenskan club Falkenbergs after one season to take over at a club at which he had two stints as a player. Larsson also coached Landskrona BoIS – Helsingborgs' biggest rival – in the second-tier Superettan from 2010 to '12.

Pyzdrowski started his pro career with the Portland Timbers in the USSF Division-2 Professional League in 2010, then joined Ängelholms a year later. He went on to make 105 appearances for the club, playing every league game in 2011 and all but one in both 2013 and '14; he missed 13 matches in 2012 because of multiple concussions and then suffered a broken foot.

Last year, Pyzdrowski went 10-13-9 with 10 clean sheets in all competitions  for Ängelholms, which struggled in the 16-team league and didn't secure its spot in the Superettan for 2015 until the final day of the season.

On Twitter: @MattPyzdrowski

• Following a stellar season for Ljungskile SK in the Superettan, keeper Alex Horwath (UW) signed a two-year contract with Norwegian club SK Brann on Friday. The 27-year-old Horwath had 13 shutouts and allowed just 25 goals in 30 games in 2014 as Ljungskile lost only twice in league play and finished third in the league, one point behind the champion. He signed a one-year deal with Ljungskile last year after spending time in Major League Soccer, first as a league pool goalkeeper in 2010 and then with the New York Red Bulls in 2011, and was with USL PRO's Wilmington Hammerheads in 2012 and VSI Tampa Bay FC in 2013. SK Brann was relegated after finishing 14th in the top-level Tippeligaen last season, and the Bergen club will play in the 1. Division in 2015. Horwath is one of three keepers on Brann's first-team roster, joining Poland's Piotr Leciejewski – their starter for the past four seasons – and 20-year-old Norwegian youth international Øystein Øvretveit. On Twitter: @AlexHorwath
• Contrary to a report, forward Andrew Stadler (Wauwatosa West) is looking to leave Landskrona BoIS, which was relegated to the third-tier Division 1 Norra for 2015. The Helsingbords Dagblad reported earlier this week that he would remain with Landskrona (Read full article in Swedish), but Stadler wrote via Twitter direct message Sunday that the report was erroneous and he is indeed seeking a move either within Scandinavia or to the Netherlands. The 26-year-old Stadler tied for seventh in the Superettan with 13 goals in 29 league appearances in 2014. On Twitter: @AndrewStadler 
• Swedish midfielder Sebastian Jansson (Marquette), who wrapped up his college career last fall, signed with Södertälje FK – his hometown club. The 23-year-old Jansson had seven goals and six assists in 66 appearances (44 starts) for the Golden Eagles, including one assist in 12 matches as a senior. Södertälje won the Division 2 Södra Svealand last season to earn promotion to the Division 1 Norra, which is part of the third division. On Twitter: @lifebysebastian
• Defender Katie Kelly (Marquette) will play in Finland's top-tier Naisten Liiga for the second straight year in 2015, having signed with title contender Åland United after spending last season battling relegation with Kokkola F10. Perhaps more important for the 27-year-old center back, though, is that one of her teammates will be her younger sister Maegan Kelly (Marquette) – it's the first time the siblings will be on the same team.  Katie Kelly played for the Golden Eagles from 2005 to '08 before embarking on a pro career that included stops in Sweden (Hammarby and Kristianstads DFF), Germany (Lokomotive Leipzig) and her native Kansas with FC Kansas City of the National Women's Soccer League before joining Kokkola F10 in 2014 – she had six goals in 23 appearances and was named the team's player of the year. "She is a very good technical player with experience and personality to help lead our team," Åland United manager Gary Williams said of Katie Kelly, who played three UEFA Women's Champions League qualifiers with the team last August. "She'll play a key role in our build-up play. I'm very pleased to have her experience and quality in our back line." Maegan Kelly, meanwhile, starred at Marquette from 2010 to '13 and scored seven goals in 10 overall appearances for Icelandic club UMF Stjarnan in her first pro season last year. Åland United – based in Lemland in the the autonomous Åland Islands off the south shore of Finland – won the Naisten Liiga in 2013 and was second in 2014, losing to PK-35 in a title-deciding match on the final day of the season. On Twitter: @KKelly21 @maegskell
• Five state natives are on the preliminary list of players eligible for the NWSL College Draft, which is Friday in Philadelphia: Defender-midfielder-forward Chandra Eigenberger (Ashwaubenon/UW-Green Bay), former Baylor defender-midfielder-forward Justine Hovden (Lake Geneva Badger), midfielder-forward Hannah Kernen (Sugar River/UW-Green Bay) midfielder-forward Mary Luba (Shorewood/Marquette) and forward Cara Walls (Wauwatosa East/UW). Full list of eligible players

Editor's note: This article has been edited from its original version to reflect information concerning Andrew Stadler that became available after posting.