PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Updated through June 29, 2019
2019 (Columbus): Niko Hansen has made eight appearances (one start as a right back) for Crew SC this season. He made is 2019 regular-season debut during a home match against the New England Revolution (April 6) coming in as a substitute for Pedro Santos in the 85th minute. Hansen made a substitute appearance during a road contest against the Houston Dynamo (April 27) coming in for Eduardo Sosa in the 73rd minute. He made two consecutive substitute appearances during a road contest against D.C. United (May 4) and a home contest against the LA Galaxy (May 8). Hansen made his 2019 regular-season start during a road contest against the Colorado Rapids (May 25) and played the entire 90 minutes. He did not make an appearance during the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
2018 (Columbus): Niko Hansen made 22 regular-season appearances (two starts as a left midfielder and nine starts as a right midfielder) for Crew SC this season, providing three goals and two assists. He came on as a substitute for Cristian Martinez and played 16 minutes against the Philadelphia Union (March 17), played 15 minutes against D.C. United (March 24) and played 34 minutes against the Chicago Fire (April 7). Hansen started in consecutive matches in home contests against the New England Revolution (April 21) and the San Jose Earthquakes (April 28). He returned to the starting lineup in a home match against the Philadelphia Union (May 9). Hansen came in as a substitute for Pedro Santos in the 10th minute of a home match against the Chicago Fire (May 12) and provided his first assist of the season on Gyasi Zardes’ first goal of the match. He returned to the starting lineup in a home match against Toronto FC (June 2). Hansen next appeared as a substitute in a home match against Real Salt Lake (June 30). The following week, he made a substitute appearance in an international friendly at home against Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa (July 3), and also appeared as a substitute in a road match against the LA Galaxy (July 7) in MLS regular-season action. He returned to the starting lineup in a road match against New York City FC (July 14). The following week, he started in a home match against Orlando City SC (July 21), Hansen provided an assist on Gyasi Zardes’ 51st-minute goal. In a substitute appearance against the Chicago Fire (August 23), Hansen scored his first goal of the season in the 87th minute to tie the match at 1-1. He made a substitute appearance in a road match against FC Dallas (September 15). He returned to the starting lineup in a road match against the Portland Timbers (September 19) and recorded a brace, his first with the club. He made a substitute appearance in a home match against the Philadelphia Union (September 29) and in a road match against the Montreal Impact (October 6). He returned to the starting lineup in a road match against Orlando City SC (October 21). Hansen provided the game-winning assist on Gyasi Zardes 83rd-minute goal in a home match against Minnesota United FC. Hansen made one appearance in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. He made a substitute appearance in an Eastern Conference Knockout Round match against D.C. United (November 1), coming in for Justin Meram. He did not make any appearances in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Red Bulls (November 4 and November 11) after being listed as questionable with a right ankle injury. Hansen made one appearance (one start as a right midfielder) in a 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Fourth Round home match against the Chicago Fire (June 6), registering an assist on Cristian Martinez’s 10th-minute goal.
2017 (Columbus): Hansen made 14 appearances (three starts): 11 appearances (three starts) at right midfield, two appearances at left midfield and one appearance at forward, and he scored one goal and recorded two assists this season. He made his MLS debut for Crew SC in a home match against the Portland Timbers (March 25), coming on as a substitute in the second half and scoring his first career MLS goal and game winning goal in the 84th minute. Hansen made his first regular-season start against Toronto FC (April 15), recording his first regular-season assist.. He underwent surgery to repair a hernia in June, missing subsequent matches as a result. Hansen made one substitute appearance at right midfield in the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs. He made a substitute appearance in a road match against Atlanta United FC (October 26) in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round and scored a goal in the penalty-kick shootout.
COLLEGE EXPERIENCE
Hansen played four seasons at the University of New Mexico, making 79 appearances (65 starts), scoring 28 goals and providing 14 assists. During his senior year, he earned NSCAA Third Team All-American, NSCAA First Team All-Southeast Region and First Team All-Conference USA honors (2016). As a junior, the forward made the Second Team All-Conference USA and was named the MVP of the TLC Plumbing & Utility Invitational tournament (2015). Hansen was named to the Team All-Conference USA and he Grange & Ashwill Memorial All-Tournament Team in his junior year (2014). During his first year at the University of New Mexico, he earned Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors (2013). Hansen also played for the Sounders FC U-23 side in the USL PDL (2014).
Name: Niko Hansen (KNEE-co)
Position: Forward
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 170
Born: September 14, 1994 in Randers, Denmark
Hometown: Sacramento, California
Citizenship: United States/Denmark
Drafted: Selected in the First Round (Ninth overall) in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft on January 13, 2017
Previous Experience: University of New Mexico (2013-2016)
PERSONAL BIO
Hansen’s parents are Peter and Monica. He has a younger sister named Shannon. His hobbies include spending time with friends and going on hikes to see nature. Hansen’s favorite movie is Road to El Dorado. Although he plays video games on consoles, he prefers to play them on computer. His favorite food is tri-tip steak. Hansen’s favorite place in the world is Monaco and looks forward to visiting there again. Growing up, he looked up to Brazilian star Ronaldinho and later tried to emulate Eden Hazard. His favorite soccer memory is being in the 2017 MLS Combine and being chosen in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. Hansen is a dual-citizen of Denmark and the United States. He is bilingual, speaking both Danish and English.
