Kristian Yli-Hietanen

Kristian Yli-Hietanen
Personal information
Full name Kristian Aleksi Yli-Hietanen
Date of birth (1996-05-31) 31 May 1996 (age 28)
Place of birth Tampere, Finland
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Team information
Current team
 Gnistan
Youth career
Ilves
North Vancouver FC
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Capilano Blues 26 (15)
2017–2018 UBC Thunderbirds 32 (14)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 TSS Rovers 10 (2)
2019 TSS Rovers 7 (1)
2020 TPV 8 (3)
2021 Lahti 21 (1)
2021 → Reipas Lahti 2 (0)
2022 KäPa 22 (16)
2023 Haka 7 (0)
2023 KäPa 13 (10)
2024– Gnistan 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 25 June 2024

Kristian Yli-Hietanen (born 31 May 1996) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Veikkausliiga club Gnistan. Yli-Hietanen holds a dual Finnish-Canadian citizenship.[1]

Early life

Born in Tampere, Finland,[2] Yli-Hietanen began playing youth soccer with Ilves,[3] In 2007, he moved to North Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada with his family,[2] where he played youth soccer with North Vancouver FC.[4] After graduating high school at Sutherland Secondary School, he was not recruited by any university programs and began working construction as a labourer and a painter.[2]

University career

In 2015, he began attending Capilano University, where he was the 2015 PACWEST Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, as well as Golden Boot award winner after scoring eight goals in 14 league games.[4] He also helped Capilano win the PACWEST Gold Medal and the national CCAA silver medal and was named a CCAA All-Canadian and CCAA Tournament All-Star.[5] In February 2016, he decided to transfer to Simon Fraser University,[4][6] however, he ultimately remained with Capilano instead for 2016.[7] In 2016, they repeated as PACWEST Gold medalists and won the CCAA bronze medal.[5]

In 2017, following two successful seasons with the Capilano University men's soccer team, Yli-Hietanen would move on to the University of British Columbia.[2] On September 30, 2018, he scored 4 goals in a game against the University of North British Columbia Timberwolves.[8][9] While in university, he also played amateur senior soccer with Rino's Tigers in the Vancouver Metro Soccer League from 2017 to 2019.[10]

Club career

In 2017, he played for TSS FC Rovers in the Premier Development League.[7][11] He would return to TSS FC for the 2019 season,[12] scoring once in seven appearances.[13]

In 2020, he returned to Finland, signing with Tampereen Pallo-Veikot (TPV) of the third tier Kakkonen.[14]

In 2021, Yli-Hietanen approached Reipas Lahti and went on trial with them, where he was recommended to the top tier side FC Lahti, where he signed a contract.[3][15] He scored his first goal in a 2021 Finnish Cup match against KTP on February 13.[16]

In 2022, he joined KäPa in Kakkonen.[17]

On 9 January 2023, it was announced that Yli-Hietanen had signed a 1+1 year contract with FC Haka in the Veikkauslliga.[18]

On 14 July 2023, Yli-Hietanen rejoined Ykkönen club KäPa on a contract for the rest of the season.[19]

On 15 January 2024, Yli-Hietanen signed with newly promoted Veikkausliiga club IF Gnistan on a one-year deal.[20]

Career statistics

As of 25 June 2024.[21]
Club Season League Cup[a] Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
TSS Rovers 2017 PDL 10 2 0 0 – 10 2
2019 USL League Two 7 1 0 0 – 7 1
Total 17 3 0 0 0 0 7 3
TPV 2020 Kakkonen 8 3 0 0 – 8 3
Lahti 2021 Veikkausliiga 21 1 2 1 – 23 2
Reipas Lahti 2021 Kakkonen 2 0 – – 2 0
KäPa 2022 Kakkonen 22 16 – – 22 16
Haka 2023 Veikkausliiga 7 0 1 0 0 0 8 0
KäPa 2023 Ykkönen 13 10 – – 13 10
Gnistan 2024 Veikkausliiga 1 0 3 2 – 4 2
Career total 91 33 6 3 0 0 97 36
Notes
  1. ^ Appearances in the Suomen Cup and Finnish League Cup

References

  1. ^ K.Yli-Hietanen at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ a b c d Tsumura, Howard (10 October 2018). "Kristian Yli-Hietanen: At first unwanted, UBC's Finnish-born phenom is showing both the flash and the finish". Varsity Letters.
  3. ^ a b "Lisävoimaa hyökkäykseen Kanadasta - Kristian Yli-Hietanen FC Lahteen" [Additional power to attack from Canada - Kristian Yli-Hietanen to FC Lahti]. Veikkausliiga (in Finnish). 29 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Frost, Steve (February 10, 2016). "Six Lower Mainland Athletes Sign With Men's Soccer". Simon Fraser University.
  5. ^ a b "Kristian Yli-Hietanen Capilano profile". Capilano University.
  6. ^ "SFU's six soccer recruits ready to rumble". The Peak. February 22, 2016.
  7. ^ a b McColl, Michael (May 5, 2017). "Get To Know Your TSS Rovers: Kristian Yli-Hietanen". Away from the Numbers.
  8. ^ Prest, Andy (October 10, 2018). "North Vancouver's Kristian Yli-Hietanen catches fire for UBC Thunderbirds". North Shore News.
  9. ^ Hill, Gideon (September 30, 2018). "MSOC: Kristian Yli-Hietanen scores four goals in UBC win". Canada West Universities Athletic Association.
  10. ^ McColl, Michael (May 12, 2019). "CCB stun Rino's Tigers with early offensive blitz to claim first BC Provincial Cup crown". Away from the Numbers.
  11. ^ "Kristian Yli-Hietanen 2017 PDL Stats". USL League Two.
  12. ^ Prest, Andy (June 4, 2019). "Vancouver TSS Rovers bring soccer passion to Canada". North Shore News.
  13. ^ "Kristian Yli-Hietanen 2019 USL2 Stats". USL League Two.
  14. ^ "Kristian Yli-Hietanen TPV:n kanssa sopimukseen" [Kristian Yli-Hietanen to an agreement with TPV]. Tampereen Pallo-Veikot (in Finnish). March 5, 2020. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021.
  15. ^ Laiho, Roosa (July 15, 2021). "FC Lahden hyökkääjä janoaa maaleja" [FC Lahti striker is thirsty for goals]. Uusi Lahti.
  16. ^ Gallindo, Peter (March 22, 2021). "Canadians Abroad Mailbag: Halbouni's progress, Gold Cup options and more". Peter Gallindo.
  17. ^ "Kristian Yli-Hietanen sopimukseen edustusjoukkueen kanssa" [Kristian Yli-Hietanen enters into an agreement with the representative team]. Käpylän (in Finnish). 14 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Kakkosen maalitykki siirtyy Veikkausliigaan - "Asenne on juuri semmoinen, kuin me halutaan!"" [Kakkonen's goal stick moves to the Veikkausliiga - "The attitude is exactly what we want!"]. www.sportti.com (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  19. ^ "Kristian Yli-Hietanen loppukauden sopimuksella kapaan". kapylanpalloedustus.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  20. ^ "KRISTIAN YLI-HIETANEN GNISTANIN HYÖKKÄYKSEEN" [KRISTIAN YLI-HIETANEN TO THE GNISTAN ATTACK]. gnistan.fi (in Finnish). 15 January 2024.
  21. ^ Kristian Yli-Hietanen at Soccerway