RIVERSIDE - Maybe one day Ashkan Khosravi will be able to play against his friends and former teammates.

“That’s the biggest thing I look forward to is to be on the U.S. national team and play against them in a World Cup,” says Khosravi, who was born in Iran and developed into one of the country’s top youth goalkeepers.

Soccer is Iran’s most popular sport and at one point, Khosravi envisioned himself playing for his native country on the biggest stage. But religion and politics intervened. He’s now a freshman goalkeeper for UC Riverside, culminating a journey that started with a train ride out of Iran, and even featured a stint in Texas.

It wasn’t exactly the career path Khosravi would have chosen, but he said he had no choice. As a non-Muslim, he wasn’t allowed to play at the national level in Iran once he turned 16. After much soul-searching, Khosravi decided the only way to continue his career was to leave the country. He was 14. His older brother had already immigrated to the U.S., so that was an option, although not an easy one.

Khosravi took a train to Turkey and became a refugee. After a year-and-a-half of interviews and immigration paperwork, he joined his brother in Dallas and his soccer career was rejuvenated.

“It was hard,” Khosravi said of being away from his friends and family and trying to make a new life.

But soccer helped. He was a standout for Plano West High, and played for the U.S. Development Academy and high-level clubs. UCR had been looking to recruit a goalkeeper and Highlanders coach Junior Gonzalez got a call from a friend who happened to see Khosravi play in Texas.

Gonzalez watched him in a showcase and set up an official visit to Riverside.

“He’s extremely athletic, he’s clean technically in shot stopping, he has good hands, good leadership, good game experience, confidence …” Gonzalez said, checking off all the qualities that jumped out during the recruiting process. “He’s further along than your typical recruit at that age.”

It also didn’t hurt that Khosravi had international experience. His original plan was to pursue a pro career after high school, but after receiving interest from several Division I colleges, he decided to come to UCR.

“I knew this is a program that started winning last year and they’re going to keep going,” Khosravi said.

And it has. After making their first postseason appearance last year, the Highlanders have jumped out to a 5-0 record this season and have cracked the national polls for the first time. UCR is No. 25 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America rankings and ranked No. 30 by College Soccer News. The Highlanders look to remain perfect this weekend when they host their invitational tournament beginning Friday.

Maybe not coincidently, UCR has three shutouts in its first five games. The Highlanders have also been balanced on the offensive end with four players already with two or more goals.

Junior defender Hayden Leslie said there’s a different dynamic with the team this year because of the confidence level. A lot of that comes from the goalkeeper.

“It’s a big jump to the college level,” he said. “But he fits right in.”

Khosravi received his green card about six months ago and is adapting to life in Southern California. The journey to get here wasn’t easy, but he keeps everything in perspective.

“Sometime when I check the Iranian Web site I see some friends I played with and they’re already playing pro,” Khosravi said. “I wish I could do that too, but I’m happy I’m where I am. I feel like I’m getting better every day and there are better things waiting for me if I keep working hard.”