Defenseman Niko Katic

The Riverhounds are lucky to recruit great players from all over the country and the world.  One of the Hounds’ international players is rookie defenseman Niko Katic, a native of Makarska, Croatia who moved to America to pursue a career in soccer.       

“I played in Croatia for Junior teams – like U19.  Then I tried to go and make for a first team and I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have enough experience and I wasn’t good enough,” Katic said.

After failing to make a top-tier squad, he was going to try playing in a lower division for a few years before trying out again, but in the meantime he received an offer to play for a college in America.

“I got an offer from Bradley University to come over here and play for them but they didn’t have a full ride at the time so I couldn’t play for my school,” he said. “So I went to the junior college, Illinois Central College, played over there for three years, went to nationals three years in a row and then a coach from Western Illinois University saw me playing and he like me and gave a full ride after that to Illinois to play there for two years.”

Katic also played for the Chicago Fire and Springfield Demize of the PDL before moving to the USL-2 this season.     

“I went to the USL combine, was invited over there and then Gene Klein saw me over there and he invited me out here.  That’s how it starts,” he said.  

While Katic admits that sometimes it’s hard being away from family and friends in Croatia, he never second-guesses his decision to come here.     

“I’m not that kind of person,” he said.  “I don’t regret anything in my life, I just go with the flow.”      

That “go with the flow” attitude has helped Niko to adjust to a new team and a new city.    

“So far everything is good for me and I can be only so thankful for these guys for taking care of me,” he said.  “It’s my pleasure to be here.  I love every single bit of it.”

Katic had to wait over a month into the season to play in his first USL-2 game when he made his Riverhounds debut in a 3-1 road win against Wilmington.

“It was hard because I’m passionate for soccer and I love soccer…but Coach told me keep working hard and you’ll get your chance and once you get it you have to take it.”    

Now that he is in the lineup, Katic enjoys being on the field with his new teammates.  It helps that the veteran leaders from the Riverhounds are there to guide him.

“I feel comfortable because I’m surrounded by very experienced players like Justin (Evans), T-Bone, Salsi, Kutney and all those guys, so they help me a lot,” Katic said.  “We communicate a lot on the field so it’s much easier to play around them…so I feel very comfortable in that position.”              

Katic is feeling comfortable on and off the field in his new environment.     

“I love Pittsburgh.  Pittsburgh is an amazing city.  It reminds me of my city a lot, too,” he said.  “Everything is great.  People are nice here and I love it.”        

While Katic said that so far his greatest accomplishment in soccer is playing for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, he has loftier goals.         

“I want to move up (to higher levels of soccer), we’ll see if I can,” he said. “I just want to move up and see how it goes.  I’m still young and I think I’m going to be playing soccer for many, many more years.  As long as I play soccer and I’m happy that’s all I need.”

Fun facts about Niko:

He started playing soccer when he was five years old.

He is an avid reader.

“I like reading books rather than watching TV.  Watching TV is just like wasting time for me so I like to read books.  The last book that I read was Twilight.  I didn’t see the movie but I heard the movie was kind of bad.”

He has a hidden talent. 

“I used to dance.  Latin American dance – like Cha-Cha, Paso Doble.  It’s pretty popular (in Croatia).  It’s a very beautiful sport.  I had some good results, too – I can dance.”