Crew’s Hansen brings physical edge to wing

A trait developed in Albuquerque made its way onto the field at Mapfre Stadium on Saturday.

In the first halfhour of Crew SC’s 2-2 tie against the New England Revolution, Niko Hansen, a secondyear wing out of New Mexico, lowered his shoulder a few times as he made runs in his first start of 2018. The movements gave defenders an indication that it would be a long night.

“That’s just a little bit of competing. I think everybody wants to get into it and kind of get a body on it,” Hansen said. “I think being a forward in college, you’re used to the bigger guys trying to get a handle on you and it just comes from there.”

Hansen’s blend of physicality and speed, which earned him a one-on-one chance against New England keeper Matt Turner in the 19th minute, gave the Crew a different look in a first half that was the offense's best in more than a month.

It’s a quality the Crew can use as it looks to build week-to-week consistency in the final third of the field.

“I think we talked about the importance about having a squad, having a number of guys that can play, and Niko we counted as one of them,” coach Gregg Berhalter said. “(The goal was) getting him Crew midfielder Niko Hansen, left, missed a big chunk of last season because of hernia surgery, then had to overcome a preseason hamstring injury before getting a start last week.

fit, getting him strong. He’s a powerful boy and a very aggressive runner, good getting behind the line. That quality gives us another dimension, and I think that dimension will be important.”

Hansen managed to fly under the radar to start the season because he was initially not available for selection. Poised for a consistent start to his second year in Major League Soccer, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 SuperDraft pulled a hamstring late in a Pacific Rim Cup game in Honolulu, setting him back to start the 2018 regular season.

The brief absence came after Hansen missed a large chunk of the 2017 season following hernia surgery. He made three starts as a rookie before the end of May, providing the Earthquakes at Crew SC When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday TV: Ch. 53, Spectrum Sports Radio: WWCD-FM (102.5) winning goal against Portland in March and the winning assist against Montreal in May. But after going all 90 minutes of a 5-0 loss Toronto on May 26, he played just 37 minutes over three games the rest of the season.

Health became a goal of Hansen’s, just as it is for many secondyear players who hit a roadblock in their jump from college to professional soccer. Just ask

a few of his secondyear teammates on the Crew.

“(Center back) Alex (Crognale) had a hernia as well, (right back) Connor (Maloney) had some knee issues, so trying to stay healthy has been one of my No. 1 priorities right now, just being available,” Hansen said. “I think I’ve worked hard at that, so, yeah, (hernia surgery) was really frustrating, but it also set me up well to be where I am now.”

Hansen will work to hold on to a starting spot against Cristian Martinez now that he is healthy and has his first start of 2018 under his belt. Expect him to lower a shoulder or two along the way.