When speaking Thursday of Mark-Anthony Kaye, Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor prefaced his comments with a reminder: “Mark’s obviously a young man.” That, meaning the youngest player on his roster hasn’t reached his ceiling as a professional soccer player.
Form from Kaye’s last two games indicates the 22-year-old is getting closer.
Kaye, a midfielder in his second season with LouCity, has scored in back-to-back appearances, delivering the only goal in a loss to the Charlotte Independence before helping finish last weekend’s 5-0 victory over rival FC Cincinnati.
As the boys in purple look forward to Sunday’s 5 p.m. away game against Bethlehem Steel FC — affiliate of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union — Kaye has O’Connor poised to make a tough decision. Leave Kaye in the lineup, or consider a return for fellow wingers George Davis IV (from a knee tweak) or Brian Ownby (a muscle strain)?
“We’ve been really pleased with how he’s played recently and also with how he’s been training,” the coach said of Kaye. “I think he’s been training really, really well. Like with everything, you take your training into games.”
Kaye credits his recent scoring surge to three things: experience with Canada’s National Team earlier this summer, the culture of O’Connor’s team and a heightened work ethic. Credit the last piece to maturation.
After a stint with Canada’s U-23 squad in March, Kaye received his first full International call up for a June training camp and friendly. He came on as a substitute and earned his way into his home nation’s CONCACAF Gold Cup squad. During that tournament, Kaye made also his first international start, going the full 90 minutes in a draw with Costa Rica, the toughest opponent in Canada’s group.
“Definitely Canada helped a little bit with my composure on the ball and understanding to make smarter runs,” Kaye said, “not kind of run yourself into the ground so you’re less efficient when you’ve got the ball.”
With new skills in place, Kaye made a start July 22 in LouCity’s 4-1 win at Saint Louis FC — that game less than 48 hours after Canada’s final Gold Cup game. The 6-foot-1 midfielder showcased his versatility again Aug. 5 when brought on as an early substitute for Paolo DelPiccolo against the Charlotte Independence; LouCity trailed and went on to lose, but Kaye immediately impacted his side’s attack and scored its only goal.
Last Saturday, he was at it again playing opposite Niall McCabe on the wing. Kaye put four of his five shots on target against FC Cincinnati, including a nifty give and go with Luke Spencer in the 57th minute that resulted in LouCity’s third goal of the night.
“He’s come back and just looks more confident,” McCabe said. “He’s demanding the ball more. He’s taking players on. His movement I think is what really caused them some problems on Saturday. He was really hard to pick up. Holding mids or center backs, they didn’t really know who to go and take him.
“He came back with a lot of confidence and he scored against Charlotte. He scored again this past weekend. So he’s on a roll right now, and hopefully it continues.”
