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Sounder at Heart has learned that Davenport University's 21 year-old attacking midfielder/striker Dzenan Catic will go on trial with the Sounders ahead of the 2014 MLS season.
Catic won the U15/16 national title in 2009 with Derby County Wolves (a US Academy team(, providing the winning goal in the final. A month later, Catic and two of his Wolves teammates trained in England with Derby County.
A high school national player of the year, Catic went on trial with a few teams in Europe, including FC Basel, before signing with Kaiserslautern in the summer of 2011 and appeared in 6 matches for its reserve side, scoring 1 goal in 165 minutes in the 2011/12 season. At one point, he was told that there was a chance of getting called up by Bosnia's U21 national team. That call never came and he was released from Kaiserslautern after the season ended.
Catic returned home to Michigan in the summer of 2012 and attempted to earn a spot on a roster in MLS. No MLS team offered him a contract, so he opted to rejoin several of his high school teammates at Davenport University
Catic played for Davenport in the NAIA in the 2013 season, leading the team in scoring with 24 goals and 3 assists in 22 matches. He finished the season tied for third in goals scored in the NAIA.
In an interview last fall, Caltic expressed his desire to play for a pro team soon. He wants to play professionally in the United States before returning to Europe.