Wisconsin Soccer Central

Katie Bethke (Eau Claire Memorial) moved up the table in the Damallsvenskan over the past month as Sweden's top women's league took a break during the Women's World Cup.

The midfielder recently joined Eskilstuna United (6-2-0), which is third in the 12-team league, after spending the first half of the season with Mallbackens IF Sunne.

Bethke, 26, played all 630 minutes and had one assist in seven matches for Mallbackens (1-5-1), which is in 11th place in its first season back in the Damallsvenskan after earning promotion as last year's Elitettan champion.

Eskilstuna United is the seventh professional club for Bethke, who also has spent time with the Atlanta Beat in Women's Professional Soccer (2011), Norwegian clubs Arna-Bjørnar (2011), Avaldsnes IL (2013 and '14) and IK Grand Bodø (2014) and German club Bayer Leverkusen (2012).

On Twitter: @kbethke3

• Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) just keeps rolling along. The midfielder picked up his Major League Soccer-leading 11th assist of the season on the lone goal of the night as Columbus Crew SC topped the Chicago Fire 1-0 on Wednesday in Bridgeview, Ill. He got a ball from Justin Meram, raced down the right side and crossed in a ball that Kei Kamara headed in for his MLS-best 13th goal in the 41st minute – it's the ninth time this year the two have teamed up for a goal. (Highlights below) Finlay has recorded a goal or an assist in 12 of his 20 appearances this season. On Twitter: @EFinlay13

• J.C. Banks (Milwaukee Riverside/UW-Green Bay) needed just 2 minutes to make an impact for Minnesota United FC on Wednesday night, setting up Ibson's 75th-minue goal that capped a 4-0 victory over the Jacksonville Armada in a North American Soccer League match in Blaine, Minn. Banks played a ball from the right flank across the top of the box that Ibson finished for his first goal of the season – it was Banks' first assist in nine appearances this year. (Highlights below) On Twitter: @jcbanks11

• Ian Bennett, who has played for the Milwaukee Wave for the past six seasons, signed a two-year contract with the Major Arena Soccer League team. The 29-year-old Bennett led the Wave with a career-best 40 goals in 24 appearances overall last season and has 125 goals and 43 assists in 129 regular-season matches for the team. On Twitter: @IanBennett26