Midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye made a milestone appearance Tuesday night for Louisville City FC, becoming the first player to earn a senior national team cap while with the club.
The Toronto native Kaye came on in the 79th minute of a 2-1 Canada win over Curacao in Montreal, with the international friendly serving as a sendoff leading into his nation’s run at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“We were trying to chase for three points, so I don’t think the moment hit me until the game was done — that I actually got my first cap,” Kaye said. “I feel like as soon as I got in, it was like,’ Game on. How am I going to affect the game? How am I going to assert myself?’”
Kaye entered what was at the time a tied game in place of team captain Patrice Bernier, a midfielder with Major League Soccer’s Montreal Impact. Minutes later, a penalty try bounced off the post, and the Impact’s Anthony Jackson-Hamel fired a game-winning goal as the play continued.
“It happened so fast — a ricochet and then we shoot and score,” Kaye said. “I just remember running into a big group of players celebrating.”
At 22 years old, Kaye earned multiple touches on the ball in his time on the pitch. He was one of three Canadian players to make a national team debut on Tuesday and was previously named to the 40-man provisional Gold Cup roster, eligible to contribute during the official national team championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean
Canada coach Octavio Zambrano called Kaye to the national team after a late March stint with the U-23s, in which he contributed to a pair of wins and took Man of the Match honors in his second appearance.
Kaye will travel back to Louisville on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s USL game against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
“I feel like I’ve done enough — all I could do — to stake my claim and hopefully put my name in that group for the Gold Cup,” he said. “If not, there are always other opportunities, and I’m just grateful for the one that came tonight.”
Midfielder Devon “Speedy” Williams is the only other player on LouCity’s roster to make a full international appearance, something he accomplished in 2010 with Jamaica before turning professional. Goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh also earned a call up last September to train with his father’s home nation, Trinidad and Tobago, during World Cup qualifiers.
