Niki Cross was born in Brockton, Massachusetts and attended Notre Dame Academy, where she was a four-year letter- winner and captain. She was named All-State, All-New England, All-American and ODP All-American during the course of her high school career. In addition to winning accolades from the Patriot Ledger and Boston Globe All-Star Teams, Niki was honored as the Boston Globe Division I Player of the Year, and received the Boston Sports Award for Female Athlete of the Year.
After graduating from Notre Dame Academy, Cross attended the University of Connecticut.
During her time at UConn, Cross led her team to the national championship game as a freshman. She was also named to the MAC Hermann trophy shortlist as a senior. A versatile member of the Huskies, Cross played in 92 career games. She also tallied 34 points in her career at UConn with 13 goals and eight assists. On August 11, 2008 Cross signed a contract with Umea Sodra, a member of the Swedish Damallsvenskan league. Before signing the contract, she spent time training and playing with the SoccerPlus CT Reds of the Women’s Premier Soccer League under former national team and Boston Breakers coach Tony DiCicco.
Niki’s professional career included spells with St. Luis Athletica, Boston Breakers, Washington Spirit and Houston Dash in the USA as well as Umea Sodra in Sweden, Newcastle Jets in Australia, Medkila in Norway and FC Bayern Munich in Germany.
On May 12, 2012 she was part of the FC Bayern Munich squad who dethroned the German Cup title holders, FFC Frankfurt with a 2-0 in the 2011-12 final in Cologne. The team celebrated the biggest success of the club’s history since winning the 1976 championship. Niki ended her professional career with the Houston Dash during the 2015 NWSL season having started every game of the season.
Niki and her wife Molly reside in Arlington,MA and recently celebrated the birth of daughter Isabella. Massachusetts Youth Soccer is delighted to honor Niki’s incredible achievements in the game by inducting her into the Hall of Fame in 2020.