Hassani Dotson Stephenson (born August 6, 1997) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a midfielder for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

club

Minnesota United Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American So ...

Early career

Dotson attended Oregon State University, where he played college soccer for four years from 2015 to 2018, making 72 appearances, scoring five goals and tallying three assists. In his senior year he was named to the

United Soccer Coaches The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

Second Team of the All-Far West Region, made the Second Team of the All-

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

, and received a Pac-12 Conference Academic Honorable Mention. While in college, Dotson also played in the

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental association football, soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United Stat ...

with

Washington Crossfire Crossfire Redmond, previously the Seattle Wolves and Washington Crossfire, is an American soccer organization based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 2009, the team plays in the National Premier Soccer League, the fourth tier of t ...

and

Lane United FC Lane United FC is an American soccer club based in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 2013, the team currently plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. History 2013 Lane United was admitted into the USL Premier Develo ...

Club career

On January 11, 2019, Dotson was drafted 31st overall in the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...

. He signed with Minnesota on February 16, 2019, made his professional debut on March 2 that year against the Vancouver Whitecaps, and scored his first goal on June 2 against Philadelphia. In June 2021, Dotson signed a three-year contract with Minnesota United.

International career

Dotson was a member of the United States under-23 team in 2019, playing in several friendlies. In 2020, he was named to the United States under-23 roster for the

2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship The 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship was the fifteenth and final edition of the CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying, the quadrennial, international, age-restricted football tournament organised by CONCACAF to determine which men's ...

, although all games were postponed just before they were to begin in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the qualifiers resumed in March 2021, he was again on the team, starting in the first game.

Personal life

Dotson is engaged to Croatian Petra Vuckovic, who he met while in college. He proposed to her on the field following a game, a moment widely shared on social media. Together the couple have a daughter Gia.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* 1997 births Living people American soccer players Association football midfielders Lane United FC players Major League Soccer players Minnesota United FC draft picks Minnesota United FC players Oregon State Beavers men's soccer players People from Federal Way, Washington Soccer players from Washington (state) Sportspeople from King County, Washington USL League Two players United States men's under-23 international soccer players {{US-footy-midfielder-stub