Wisconsin Soccer Central

What a week it's been for professional players with ties to Wisconsin.

Last weekend, two players who played college soccer in Milwaukee each scored the first goal of his pro career and another scored in a league match for the first time.

On Saturday in Sweden, Eric Pothast (Marquette) opened the scoring after a corner kick in the 16th minute as host Ängelholms FF knocked off IF Brommapojkarna 3-1 in a second-tier Superettan match. It was the first goal in league action for Pothast, who scored twice for Ängelholms in cup competition last season. (Watch highlights below)

A day later in Hanover, N.J., Pothast's college teammate Bryan Ciesiulka (Marquette) opened his account for Saint Louis FC. Ciesiulka came on in the 71st minute and scored on his first touch a minute later to pull his side level with New York Red Bulls II in a USL game, but the home team found a stoppage-time winner to pull out a 2-1 victory.

And Sunday night in another USL match, Laurie Bell (UW-Milwaukee) came off the bench in the 90th minute for the host Tulsa Roughnecks and finished off a wild 6-3 win ove Arizona United with a goal in the final moments. (Watch highlights below)

On Twitter: @Eric_Pothast @bciesiulka @LBellBell

• Andrew Stadler (Wauwatosa West) is back in the Superettan, moving to Östersunds FK this week from Landskrona BoIS. The 27-year-old Stadler tied for seventh in the Superettan last season with 13 goals in 29 appearances, but Landskrona was relegated to the third-tier Division 1 Södra. He scored 11 goals in 20 games in all competitions for Landskrona this season, and joins an Östersunds team that is 11-2-5 and in second place in the Superettan. Stadler, who started his career with Swedish clubs Färila IF and Sandvikens IF, is expected to be available for his new team Aug. 17 against Degerfors IF. On Twitter: @AndrewStadler
• Matt Pyzdrowski (Marquette) made his second appearance of the season in Allsvenskan play, coming on for injured starter Pär Hansson in the 20th minute as host Helsingborgs IF dropped a 2-1 decision to Kalmar FF in a top-tier match last Friday in Sweden. On Twitter: @MattPyzdrowski
• Patrick McLain (Eau Claire Memorial) made two saves for the clean sheet Saturday as the host Sacramento Republic posted a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders 2 in USL play. McLain has six shutouts on the season, tied for third in the league. On Twitter: @PatrickMcLain24
• Sarah Hagen (Appleton North/UW-Milwaukee) provided offense off the bench for FC Kansas City last week, scoring equalizers in National Women's Soccer League matches against the Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars. Hagen netted her second goal of the season in the 85th against the Dash last Wednesday, 5 minutes after coming on, but Women's World Cup star Carli Lloyd gave host Houston a 3-2 victory with an impressive 87th-minute strike. Three days later, Hagen got up and headed a cross from Heather O'Reilly past goalkeeper Michele Dalton (UW) in the 86th to give FCKC (5-6-4) a 2-2 tie against the Red Stars in Lisle, Ill. Dalton, meanwhile, made great back-to-back saves to help Chicago (7-1-6) earn a point, parrying O'Reilly's long-range blast over the crossbar in the 64th and then tipping Lauren Holliday's ensuing corner kick over the bar. On Twitter: @sarahapplehagen @MicheleDalton18
• Tosaint Ricketts (UW-Green Bay) has returned to Turkey, as he signed with second-division club Boluspor on Monday. The Canadian international scored three goals in 35 appearances in all competitions for Hapoel Haifa in Israel last season, joining the Ligat ha'Al club after playing for Turkish club Bucaspor in 2014. Ricketts, who turns 28 on Thursday, had nine goals in 28 matches for Bucaspor and also has played for Finnish side MYPA, defunct Romanian club Politehnica Timişoara and Norwegian sides Vålerenga and Sandnes Ulf during his pro career. Boluspor (11-12-11) finished 10th in the 18-team 1.Lig last season. On Twitter: @TosaintRicketts
• After spending his entire pro career in the Netherlands, Charles Kazlauskas (Milwaukee Thomas More) could be headed for England. Having departed Helmond Sport after six seasons, Kazlauskas was on trial with fellow Eerste Divisie club Achilles '29 and reportedly received a contract offer, but turned it down. He told local media he likely would go on trial with English club Oxford United, which plays in the fourth-tier League 2. (Read full report in Dutch) The versatile Kazlauskas, who turns 33 in November, had stints with N.E.C. (2001 to '05) and Fortuna Sittard (2003 and '04) and played four seasons at TOP Oss (2005 to '09) before joining Helmond Sport in 2009.
• Maegan Kelly (Marquette) scored her eighth goal of the season and her older sister Katie Kelly (Marquette) converted a penalty kick as host Åland United rallied to draw Merilappi United 3-3 in a Naisten Liiga match Friday in Finland. Maegan Kelly, who has four goals in league play, was named the game's second star and Merilappi United's Rebekah Roller (Brookfield East) was the third star. On Twitter: @maegskell @KKelly21 @RebekahRoller3
• Columbus Crew SC midfielder Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) played the second half as the Major League Soccer All-Star team held off Premier League side Tottenham Hotpsur 2-1 last Wednesday in Commerce City, Colo. On Twitter: @EthanFinlay13
• Chicago rookie midfielder Matt Polster (Milwaukee) was named to the MLS Team of the Week after helping the Fire get out of last place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas, which came into Sunday's match on a five-game winning streak.