Louisville City FC midfielder and Toronto native Mark-Anthony Kaye has earned another call up to represent his home nation on the international level, Canada Soccer announced Saturday morning.
Kaye will compete for Canada this month in the Aspire U-23 Tournament, a three-team competition designed to develop and transition younger players on their path to Men’s National Team.
“It’s always nice to get called up to a national team camp,” Kaye said. “I’m pleased with the selection, and hopefully I can go there and perform well again. I think these camps mean a lot. I’ve got to go in there with the right mentality and mindset.”
Other participating countries in the Aspire U-23 Tournament are Uzbekistan and host nation Qatar. Canada will face Uzbekistan on March 25 and Qatar on March 28 before Kaye returns to LouCity’s squad.
Kaye, who totaled 1 goal and 3 assists last season for LouCity, also played with Canada’s U-23 team in 2016, appearing in two games during the Caribbean Cup.
“We are delighted for Mark-Anthony, as it’s such a prestigious honor to represent your country,” said LouCity coach James O’Connor. “He has worked hard in the offseason, and this is a nice reward for that work.”
Kaye came up through Major League Soccer side Toronto FC’s youth academy and made his United Soccer League debut in 2014 while on loan to Wilmington Hammerheads FC. He spent 2015 with Toronto FC II before signing with LouCity which, with Kaye often positioned on the wing, posted a second-place USL finish and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final.
LouCity is training now for its March 25 season opener against Saint Louis FC. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Slugger Field.
Kaye anticipates coming back a stronger player.
“It definitely does help you improve, because you’re playing with the top players from your age group,” the 22-year-old said. “They’ll bring a lot of experiences from different places — MLS, abroad in Europe — so it’s a different environment. The international level definitely gives you can extra push when you come back to your domestic league.”
CANADA U-23 ROSTER
1- GK- Maxime Crépeau | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
2- FB- Kadin Chung | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2
3- CB- Amer Didic | USA / Swope Park Rangers
4- CB- Marko Aleksic | CAN / FC Edmonton
5- CB- Kosovar Sadiki | ENG / Stoke City U-23
6- M- Jordan Schweitzer | USA / Orlando City B
7- M- Manuel Aparicio | ESP / SD Ordes
8- M- Juan Córdova | CHI / CD Unión San Felipe
9- F- Jordan Hamilton | CAN / Toronto FC
10- F- Michael Petrasso | ENG / Queens Park Rangers
11- F- Keven Aleman | CRC / CD Saprissa
12- M- Caniggia Elva | GER / Stuttgart II
13- CM- Louis Béland-Goyette | CAN / Impact Montréal FC
14- M- Patryk Misik | ESP / SD Ordes
15- M- Mark-Anthony Kaye | USA / Louisville City FC
16- M- Kwame Awuah | CAN / New York City FC
17- F- Mark Gonzalez | USA / Swope Park Rangers
18- GK- Marco Carducci | Unattached
