Wisconsin Soccer Central

Andrija Novakovich (Muskego) logged 58 minutes off the bench over a pair of appearances for the U.S. Under-18 national team at last week's Copa del Atlantico in Las Palmas, Canary Islands.

The Americans suffered three one-goal losses in their debut at the tournament, held on the Spanish archipelago off the coast of Morocco in northwest Africa.

Novakovich came on in the 59th minute in a 1-0 loss to Spain on Tuesday, a match in which the lone goal came in the 88th. He was an unused sub a day later in a 1-0 setback against the Argentina Under-20 team.

The U.S. fell behind host Canary Islands in their finale Friday, fought back to tie the score at 2 before conceding an 89th-minute goal to lose 3-2. The 6-foot-3 Novakovich, who has committed to Marquette for next fall, played the final 27 minutes.

Novakovich was scheduled to head back to London, where he will spend two weeks training with Premier League club Fulham and two weeks with Championship club Reading before returning to Wisconsin in late March.

Even though the U.S. lost all three of its matches, the young American side was still was impressive - midfielder Mukwelle Akale of the Minnesota Thunder Academy was honored as the tournament's top player.