Nikki Stanton

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Nikki Stanton

| image = Nikki Stanton corner kick Perth Glory (48781070401) (cropped2).jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Stanton with Perth Glory in 2018

| fullname = Nicole Leslie Stanton{{NFF}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1990|10|26}}

| birth_place = North Bend, Washington, United States

| height = {{height|ft=5|in=7}}

| position = Midfielder

| currentclub = Vancouver Rise

| clubnumber = 7

| college1 = Fairfield Stags

| collegeyears1 = 2009–2013

| collegecaps1 = 79

| collegegoals1 = 6

| clubs1 = Seattle Sounders

| years1 = 2012

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| clubs2 = Sky Blue FC

| years2 = 2014–2017

| caps2 = 41

| goals2 = 0

| clubs3 = ETG Ambilly FFC

| years3 = 2015

| caps3 =

| goals3 =

| clubs4 = → Perth Glory (loan)

| years4 = 2015–2019

| caps4 = 45

| goals4 = 0

| clubs5 = Chicago Red Stars

| years5 = 2018–2019

| caps5 = 40

| goals5 = 0

| clubs6 = Klepp IL

| years6 = 2020

| caps6 = 15

| goals6 = 2

| clubs7 = Chicago Red Stars

| years7 = 2021

| caps7 = 14

| goals7 = 0

| clubs8 = Seattle Reign

| years8 = 2022–2024

| caps8 = 35

| goals8 = 0

| clubs9 = Vancouver Rise

| years9 = 2025–

| caps9 = 1

| goals9 = 0

| pcupdate = April 16, 2025

}}

Nicole Leslie Stanton (born October 26, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Vancouver Rise FC of the Northern Super League.{{Cite web|title=Nikki Stanton|url=https://www.chicagoredstars.com/nikki-stanton|access-date=2021-10-19|website=Chicago Red Stars|language=en|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019194646/https://www.chicagoredstars.com/nikki-stanton|url-status=dead}}

Early life

Raised in North Bend, Washington about 40 minutes east of Seattle, Stanton attended Mount Si High School where she played for the girls varsity soccer team for four years.{{cite web|title=Nikki Stanton|url=http://www.fairfieldstags.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=32500&ATCLID=209367564|publisher=Fairfield University|access-date=May 5, 2015}} As team captain during her senior year, she received the school's Female Athlete of the Year honors and was selected to the All-Star Select Team by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Stanton played club soccer for Crossfire Premier and helped lead the team to five state titles and a regional championship in 2006. She was also a member of the regional Olympic Development Program (ODP).

Club career

=Seattle Sounders, 2012=

Stanton played for the Seattle Sounders during the summer of 2012.{{cite web|title=Mount Si grad Nikki Stanton is now playing for Sounders Women team|url=http://snovalleystar.com/2012/06/13/mount-si-grad-nikki-stanton-is-now-playing-for-sounders-women-team|publisher=Sno Valley Star|access-date=May 5, 2015|date=June 13, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505042606/http://snovalleystar.com/2012/06/13/mount-si-grad-nikki-stanton-is-now-playing-for-sounders-women-team|archive-date=May 5, 2015|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}{{cite web|last1=Ruhland|first1=Emilee|title=Era of excitement: Valley grad Nikki Stanton tapped to play with Sounders Women|url=http://www.valleyrecord.com/sports/164806226.html|publisher=Snoqualmie Valley Record|access-date=May 5, 2015|date=August 2, 2012}}

=Sky Blue FC, 2014–2017=

Stanton was signed by Sky Blue FC in June 2014 after playing for the team's reserve team and made 4 appearances in her rookie season.{{cite web|title=Sky Blue FC Sign Midfielder Nikki Stanton|url=http://www.nwslsoccer.com/home/819415.html|publisher=National Women's Soccer League|access-date=May 5, 2015|date=June 24, 2014|archive-date=June 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628171438/http://www.nwslsoccer.com/home/819415.html|url-status=dead}} Stanton returned to Sky Blue for the 2015 NWSl season where she played in 8 games and started 3.{{cite web|url=https://us.soccerway.com/players/nikki-stanton/340273/|title=N.STANTON|access-date=March 26, 2019}} She re-signed with Sky Blue on October 23, 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.onceametro.com/2015/10/23/9603762/sky-blue-re-signs-stanton-sends-her-on-loan-to-australias-perth-glory|title=Sky Blue re-signs Stanton; sends her on loan to Australia's Perth Glory|access-date=March 26, 2019|date=October 23, 2015}} In 2016, Stanton appeared in a career high 16 games with Sky Blue and started 13 of them.

On January 18, 2018, Stanton was traded to the Chicago Red Stars along with teammate Sam Kerr as part of a three-team trade.{{cite web|url=https://www.hottimeinoldtown.com/2018/1/18/16906504/mkot-red-stars-trade-christen-press-sam-kerr|title=Red Stars Blow Up The Roster on Draft Day, Everything Will (Probably) Be Okay |work=hottimeinoldtown.com|date=January 18, 2018|access-date=January 18, 2018|first=James|last=Gordon}}

==ETG Ambilly FFC, 2015==

Stanton spent two months with ETG Ambilly FFC in 2015 as part of the Play Football Abroad Program.{{cite web|title=Play Football Abroad Program Testimonials|url=https://www.playfootballabroad.com/testimonials/|publisher=Play Football Abroad Program|access-date=May 27, 2017|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422193930/https://www.playfootballabroad.com/testimonials/|url-status=dead}}

==Loan to Perth Glory, 2015–2019==

Following the 2015 NWSL season, Stanton went on loan to Perth Glory for the 2015-16 W-League season.{{cite web|url=http://www.w-league.com.au/article/perth-glory-sign-american-nwsl-star-nikki-stanton-for-201516-w-league-season/v0xredcc5w6b1k6yst5eqy6r5|title=Perth Glory sign American NWSL Star|publisher=Football Federation Australia|date=October 2, 2015}} She played all 990 minutes of the season for Perth. Stanton returned to Perth for the 2016-17 W-League where she once again played every minute of the season. Perth advanced to the 2017 W-League Grand Final but lost to Melbourne City 2–0.

Stanton returned to Perth for the 2017-18 W-League season. She suffered a broken arm in a game on November 5, 2017, which forced her to miss a month of the season.{{cite web|url=https://www.w-league.com.au/news/hat-trick-hill-sparks-glory-emphatic-win-over-roar|title=Hat-trick Hill sparks Glory to emphatic win over Roar|access-date=March 26, 2019|date=November 5, 2017|archive-date=April 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408120814/https://www.w-league.com.au/news/hat-trick-hill-sparks-glory-emphatic-win-over-roar|url-status=dead}} Stanton re-signed with Perth for the 2018-19 W-League season, her fourth season with the team. Perth returned to the Grand Final in 2019 but lost to Sydney FC 4–2.

=Chicago Red Stars, 2018–2019=

In her first season with Chicago, Stanton played in 20 games for the Red Stars. She advanced to the NWSL play-offs for the first time in her career as the Red Stars finished fourth and qualified for the play-offs. Chicago lost to the North Carolina Courage 2–0 in the semi-final.

=Vancouver Rise, 2025-=

On January 9, 2025 it was announced that Stanton had signed with Vancouver Rise of Northern Super League{{cite web |title=Vancouver Rise add veteran NWSL midfielder Nikki Stanton to inaugural roster |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/soccer/2025/01/09/vancouver-rise-add-veteran-nwsl-midfielder-nikki-stanton-to-inaugural-roster |website=WinnipegFreePress.com |publisher=Winnipeg Free Press |access-date=9 January 2025}}{{cite web |title=Vancouver Rise add NWSL midfielder Nikki Stanton to inaugural roster |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/article/vancouver-rise-add-nwsl-midfielder-nikki-stanton-to-inaugural-roster/ |website=Sportsnet.ca |publisher=Sportsnet |access-date=9 January 2025}}

Honors

The Women's Cup: 2022{{cite web |title=OL Reign Claim 2022 Women's Cup Title with 2-1 Win over Louisville |url=https://www.king5.com/article/sports/ol-reign-claim-2022-womens-cup-title-with-2-1-win-over-louisville/281-02e341dc-0186-4c81-b6a1-50662c2a15a7 |publisher=King 5 |access-date=7 October 2022 |date=20 August 2022}}
NWSL Shield: 2022{{cite web |last1=Azzi |first1=Alex |title=OL Reign wins 2022 NWSL Shield, Gotham denies Thorns |url=https://onherturf.nbcsports.com/2022/10/02/ol-reign-wins-2022-nwsl-shield-gotham-denies-thorns/ |publisher=NBC Sports |access-date=7 October 2022 |date=2 October 2022}}

Personal life

She was previously in a relationship with former Perth Glory and Chicago Red Stars teammate Sam Kerr.{{cite news|url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/sam-kerr-confirms-relationship-with-us-football-star/news-story/5f3a240613a1ee9c1e97782874410c09|title=Samantha Kerr confirms relationship with U.S. football star|date=9 August 2021|access-date=11 August 2021|publisher=News.com.au}}

In 2024, Stanton appeared in the first season of The Offseason, a reality television series following a group of NWSL players training before the new season.{{cite news|url=https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/the-offseason-episode-one-draws-2-5-million-views-within-24-hours|title=The Offseason Episode One Draws 2.5 Million Views Within 24 Hours |date=2024-10-19|publisher=National Women's Soccer League|access-date=2024-01-04}}

References

External links

{{NWSL player|nicole-leslie-stanton|Nikki Stanton}}
[https://www.reignfc.com/nikki-stanton Nikki Stanton #7] at Seattle Reign FC
[https://fairfieldstags.com/sports/womens-soccer/roster/nikki-stanton/1254 Nikki Stanton #7] at Fairfield Stags

Category:1990 births

Category:Living people

Category:American women's soccer players

Category:National Women's Soccer League players

Category:Seattle Sounders Women players

Category:NJ/NY Gotham FC players

Category:Perth Glory FC (women) players

Category:Fairfield Stags women's soccer players

Category:Women's association football midfielders

Category:Soccer players from King County, Washington

Category:Chicago Red Stars players

Category:People from North Bend, Washington