| Nikki Stanton | |
| Fullname: | Nicole Leslie Stanton |
| Birth Date: | 26 October 1990 |
| Birth Place: | North Bend, Washington, United States |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Seattle Reign FC |
| Clubnumber: | 7 |
| College1: | Fairfield Stags |
| Collegeyears1: | 2009–2013 |
| Collegecaps1: | 79 |
| Collegegoals1: | 6 |
| Clubs1: | Seattle Sounders |
| Years1: | 2012 |
| Clubs2: | Sky Blue FC |
| Years2: | 2014–2017 |
| Caps2: | 41 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Clubs3: | ETG Ambilly FFC |
| Years3: | 2015 |
| 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 FC |
| Years8: | 2022– |
| Caps8: | 14 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Pcupdate: | July 30, 2020 |
Nicole Leslie Stanton (born October 26, 1990) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).[1]
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.[2] 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.[2]
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).[2]
Stanton played for the Seattle Sounders during the summer of 2012.[3] [4]
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.[5] Stanton returned to Sky Blue for the 2015 NWSl season where she played in 8 games and started 3.[6] She re-signed with Sky Blue on October 23, 2015.[7] In 2016, Stanton appeared in a career high 16 games with Sky Blue and started 13 of them.[6]
On January 18, 2018, Stanton was traded to the Chicago Red Stars along with teammate Sam Kerr as part of a three-team trade.[8]
Stanton spent two months with ETG Ambilly FFC in 2015 as part of the Play Football Abroad Program.[9]
Following the 2015 NWSL season, Stanton went on loan to Perth Glory for the 2015-16 W-League season.[10] She played all 990 minutes of the season for Perth.[6] 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.[11] 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.
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.[6]
She was previously in a relationship with former Perth Glory and Chicago Red Stars teammate Sam Kerr.[14]