Kristen Hamilton

Kristen Marie Hamilton (born April 17, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a forward for Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League.

Hamilton grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and played club soccer for the Colorado Storm.

She attended Columbine High School from 2006 to 2010, where she was a varsity soccer player from her freshman year and committed to the University of Denver as a sophomore.

Hamilton attended the University of Denver from 2010 to 2013 where she played NCAA Division I soccer for the Denver Pioneers and became the school's all-time leader in points (138), goals (51), and game-winning goals (18).

Hamilton finished her career ranked third at Denver in all-time assists with 36 and fifth nationally, and was the first player in NCAA history to win player of the year honors in three different leagues: the Sun Belt Conference, the Summit League, and the Western Athletic Conference.

In 2011, Hamilton was named Female Athlete of the year by the University of Denver and the team's Most Valuable Player.

The following year in 2012, she was named NSCAA Third Team All-American and to the First Team All-West Region.

She was named WAC Player of the Year and was a First Team All-WAC selection.

The same year, she was twice named WAC Offensive Player of the Week for the weeks of September 10 and 24.

She was also named College Sports 360's National Player of the week for Week 6.

In 2012 the USL W-League was the highest tier of professional women's soccer in the US and Hamilton enjoyed a great season scoring 6 times in 10 games against some of the best players in the country.

Hamilton was able to lead the Colorado Rapids to a successful Inaugural season finishing 4th of 8 teams in the Western Conference, arguably the strongest conference in the USL W-League.

She was also named a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in 2013.

She was one 25 NCAA players, in all divisions, to have 30+ goals and 20+ assists in their career and the only NCAA Division I athlete in history to be named player of the year in three different conferences.

She ranked fourth in career points and sixth in goals.

Starting all 88 games in the forward position, she averaged 0.58 goals and 0.41 assists per game, ranking No. 21 in goals and No. 5 in assists per game nationally.

In 2013, Hamilton was named NSCAA First Team All-American, First Team All-Great Lakes Region, and Summit League Offensive Player of the Year.

She was also a MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist and 2013 Senior CLASS Award Finalist.

She was named to the First Team All-Summit League, Summit League All-Tournament Team and was the Summit League Tournament MVP.

Hamilton earned 2013 Summit League All-Academic Team honors and was named Capital One Academic All-American as well as NSCAA Scholar All-American.

She was the Summit League's Player of the Week twice for the weeks of August 26 and September 16, 2013.

She was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week on September 18, 2013.

Hamilton played for two seasons for the Colorado Rapids Women in the W-League under Coach Daniel Clitnovici.

Hamilton was selected by the Western New York Flash as the 36th overall pick of the 2014 NWSL College Draft.

She was the first University of Denver graduate to be selected in a NWSL draft.

She did not play the 2014 season due to an ACL injury suffered in a collision with an opposing goalkeeper during a pre-season match.

Hamilton was part of the Flash team that won the 2016 NWSL Championship, entering the match as a substitute in extra time.

Following the 2016 season, the Western New York Flash was sold and relocated to North Carolina.

She appeared in 16 regular season games for the Courage during the 2017 season, scoring 4 goals.

She appeared in North Carolina's semi-final match as a first-half substitute, replacing the injured Debinha.

Hamilton was in the starting line-up for the 2017 NWSL Championship game but was substituted out in the 39th minute after sustaining an injury.

The Courage went on to lose the championship game 1–0 to Portland Thorns FC.

In 2018, Hamilton played in 23 regular season games for North Carolina, starting 8 games.

She scored 3 goals as North Carolina won the 2018 NWSL Shield.

Hamilton appeared in the semi-final game as a second-half substitute as North Carolina defeated the Chicago Red Stars to advance to their second straight final.

She was a second-half substitute in the championship match, which North Carolina won 3–0 over Portland to secure the 2018 NWSL Championship.

In 2019, Hamilton played in 22 games and scored 9 goals for North Carolina.

While several Courage players participated in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup during June and July, Hamilton scored her first career NWSL hat-trick against Orlando Pride in June, followed by a four-goal match against Houston Dash in July that tied the league record for most goals scored by a player in a single match.

She was subsequently named to the league's Team of the Month in both months and featured on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays.

By the end of the season, she was one of three Courage players nominated for the league's Most Valuable Player award alongside Debinha and Jaelene Daniels, and was also named to the league's annual Second Best XI roster.