Wisconsin Soccer Central

Muskego's Andrija Novakovich played the full 90 minutes as the U.S. Under-18 national team lost to Northern Ireland 3-1 at the Northern Ireland Milk Cup on a rainy Wednesday night in Drumahoe.

The U.S. took the lead through Alex Muyl's 24th-minute goal and Novakovich, who came off the bench in a 1-1 draw with Mexico on Monday in his debut with the Under-18 team, had a chance to make it 2-0. He pounced on a poor back pass and got around the goalkeeper only to be denied by a defender at the top of the box. (Video highlights, starting at 7:23 mark)

The host team equalized in first-half stoppage time, took the lead just a minute after the break and added a late insurance goal to improve to 2-0-0 at the tournament.

The Americans (0-1-1) close out the Milk Cup against Denmark (0-2-0) on Friday afternoon in Limavady.

• University of Wisconsin midfielder Kinley McNicoll and the Canadian Under-20 women's team blanked their counterparts from Noway 1-0 in a friendly on Wednesday in Copenhagen, Denmark. Canada has won both of its friendlies on its tour, which wraps up Friday against the Danish Under-20 team.