Nicholas Stephen "Nicki" Paterson (born 19 January 1985) is a Scottish former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Career

Early career

Paterson grew up in

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

, and was a member of the academy at Scottish football club

, before signing a professional deal with

Hamilton Academical Hamilton Academical Football Club, often known as Hamilton Accies, or The Accies, is a Scottish football club from Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, who currently compete in . They were established in 1874 from the school football team at Hamilto ...

in 2002. He made his professional debut on 3 August 2002 in a

Scottish Second Division The Scottish Football League Second Division was the third tier of the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. History The Second Division was created in 1975, as part of a wider reconstruction of the Scottish Football League (SF ...

game against

Cowdenbeath Cowdenbeath () is a town and burgh in west Fife, Scotland. It is north-east of Dunfermline and north of the capital, Edinburgh. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a police burgh in 1890. According to a 20 ...

as a 17-year-old. He went on to play seven league, two

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League cup in ...

and one

Scottish Challenge Cup The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,University of Nevada Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. I ...

. He played four years

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

for the

UNLV Rebels The UNLV Rebels are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The Rebels compete in the NCAA Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Footb ...

, earning Second Team All-Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honours as a sophomore in 2006. During his college years Paterson also played two seasons for

Des Moines Menace Des Moines Menace is an American soccer team based in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1994, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the United States soccer league system. The Menace have had sustained success in USL Lea ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

scoring 15 goals earning top scorer in both seasons.

Professional

Paterson returned to the professional ranks in 2009 when he was signed by the

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the ...

of the

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

. He made his debut for Harrisburg on 18 April 2009 in a 2–2 opening day tie with the

Richmond Kickers Richmond Kickers is an American professional soccer club based in Richmond, Virginia. The Kickers compete as a member of USL League One (USL1). The club was established in 1993, and began play that same year as a United States Interregional S ...

. After playing for

USL-2 The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ...

club

Real Maryland Monarchs Real Maryland F.C., commonly known as the Real Maryland Monarchs, was an American soccer team based in Rockville, Maryland, United States. Founded in 2007, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the Americ ...

in 2010, Paterson transferred up a division to

USSF Division 2 The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

club

AC St. Louis AC St. Louis was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in December 2009, the team played its first and only season the next year in the NASL Conference of the temporary USSF D2 Pro League, the ...

. However, after only a few days at the club it emerged that Paterson could not extend his current visa and had to return to the UK with an option to sign with AC St. Louis next season. While home Paterson signed a short-term contract for

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

side Clyde in September 2010, and played his first game for the team on 25 September, a 0–0 draw against

East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins can b ...

. He scored his first goal for the Bully Wee on 16 October, in a 3–2 loss to

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the Subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some east-northeast of ...

. Paterson signed a contract on 21 January 2011 to play for

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...

in the American Soccer

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

league. He led the team in scoring with 8 goals and was named the offensive MVP. He moved indoors for the 2011–12 season with the Baltimore Blast. In 2012, Paterson increased his offensive output from his midfield position and was the league's second top scorer with 10 goals amassing 22 points. He was selected 7 times to the USL Team of the week. Paterson for the second year running was named the Offensive MVP for the Charleston Battery and added the overall team MVP. On 6 November 2013, he became

Ottawa Fury FC Ottawa Fury Football Club was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competed in the North American Soccer League and USL Championship and played its home games at TD Place Stadium. The Ottawa Fury FC were di ...

's first signing. Paterson signed with the NASL's

Indy Eleven Indy Eleven is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 2013, the team made its debut in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) in 2014, b ...

on 26 January 2016. After almost a year with the club, Paterson returned to his native Scotland, signing for

Scottish League One The Scottish League One, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League One for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foot ...

side East Fife until the end of the 2016–17 season, at which point his contract was not renewed and he left the club. Paterson subsequently signed a short-term contract with

Scottish League Two The Scottish League Two, known as William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill League Two for sponsorship reasons, is the fourth tier of the Scottish Professional Football League, the league competition for men's professional association football, foo ...

club

Stenhousemuir Stenhousemuir (; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west, where the nearest rail access is located ...

in September 2017. Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Paterson signed for

Albion Rovers Albion Rovers Football Club is a semi-professional football team from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. They play in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. Founded in October 1882, the club joined the Scottish Foot ...

References

External links

*
UNLV bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, Nicki 1985 births Living people Scottish men's footballers Scottish expatriate men's footballers Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Hamilton Academical F.C. players Des Moines Menace players Penn FC players Real Maryland F.C. players Charleston Battery players Clyde F.C. players Ottawa Fury FC players East Fife F.C. players Stenhousemuir F.C. players Albion Rovers F.C. players Scottish Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players USL League Two players USL Second Division players USL Championship players UNLV Rebels men's soccer players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Footballers from Lanark Men's association football midfielders Scottish expatriate sportspeople in Canada 21st-century Scottish sportsmen