Nikola Katic (born June 1, 1986 in

Makarska Makarska () is a town on the Adriatic coastline of Croatia, about southeast of Split (city), Split and northwest of Dubrovnik, in the Split-Dalmatia County. Makarska is a prominent regional tourist center, located on a horseshoe-shaped bay bet ...

) is a former

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who currently is the assistant head coach for

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference (USL), Eastern Conferenc ...

in the

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

Career

College

Katic came to the United States from his native Croatia in 2005 to attend

Illinois Central College Illinois Central College (ICC) is a public community college with its main campus in East Peoria, Illinois. It is part of the Illinois Community College System and its district, Illinois Community College District 514, is a includes most of Peo ...

, where he majored in marketing and was a two year starter and captain. In 2006, he was honored as an NJCAA All American after he scored five goals and had eight assists. In 2007, he transferred to

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...

, where he was selected to the Comfort Inn & Suites All-Tournament Team, and was named the team’s newcomer of the year. In 2008, Katic was named to the Country Inn Green Bay Nike Soccer Classic All Tournament team. He was also selected to the All-Summit League Second Team, named to the All-Summit league All-Tournament Team and to the NSCAA/Adidas All-Midwest Region Team. During his college years Katic also played in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

with both

Chicago Fire Premier Chicago Fire U-23 was an American soccer team based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 2001, the team last played in the PDL, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. They last played in 2016, choosing to leave the PDL. ...

and Springfield Demize.

Professional

Katic turned professional in 2009 when he signed with the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1998 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American ...

upon their return to the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

. He made his professional debut on May 30, 2009 in a 3-1 win over the

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. Histor ...

References

External links

Riverhounds bioWestern Illinois bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katic, Nikola 1986 births Living people People from Makarska Men's association football defenders Croatian men's footballers 21st-century Croatian sportsmen Western Illinois Leathernecks men's soccer players Chicago Fire U-23 players Springfield Demize players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players USL League Two players USL Second Division players USL Championship players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Croatian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Croatian football managers Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC coaches Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States