Born in Peñaflor near Santiago to an Austrian father of German and Slovak descent, Lichnovsky joined Club Universidad de Chile's at the age of 8. On 20 November 2011 he first appeared in the Campeonato Nacional, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–0 home draw against Club Deportivo Universidad Católica for the Clausura in which he was also voted as Player of the match.