Men’s soccer: Miskovic, Kimiavi shine in split opening weekend

Barely falling to UCLA in their first official game, but later overcoming Pitt to round out the weekend, Northwestern men’s soccer put together a solid first impression for the 2019 season against two power conference opponents.

The ‘Cats traveled to Bloomington, Indiana this past weekend to play the first two games of their 2019. They came out swinging against UCLA, taking four shots in the first 10 minutes of the game and outshooting the Bruins, who received votes in the preseason polls, 17-14 overall before falling to them in overtime.

Bruins goalkeeper Justin Garces recorded seven saves, while his Northwestern counterpart Miha Miskovic had three. Sophomores Bardia Kimiavi and Richie Bennett led the team with three shots each.

The team features ten first-years, three of which saw playing time against UCLA. Midfielders Logan Weaver and Vicente Castro and defender Jack Ratterman all made their debuts as Wildcats last Friday.

Two days later, the ‘Cats topped a Pitt team that scuffled in 2018 behind a goal from Kimiavi. Assisted by Miskovic, Kimiavi used his incredible pace to find the back of the net just two minutes into the game.

Miskovic continued to make big plays with seven saves throughout the matchup, becoming only the fourth player in program history to make 100 career saves. This is particularly impressive considering Miskovic is only a junior and still has plenty of time to add to his career total.

The Wildcats return to Evanston for their home opener Friday, September 6th at 7:30 p.m., where they will take on Lehigh in the Lakeside Classic. On Sunday, they will follow that up with a tilt with Bowling Green.