Kyle Bekker

Kyle Bekker

Personal information
Full name	Kyle Edward Bekker
Date of birth	(1990-09-02) September 2, 1990
Place of birth	Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Toronto FC
Number	8
Youth career
2004–2005	Oakville Bluestars
2006–2007	Mississauga Dixie Dominators
2007–2009	Sigma FC
2009–2012	Boston College Eagles
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2013–	Toronto FC	9	(0)
National team‡
2012	Canada U23	4	(0)
2013–	Canada	9	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 27, 2013. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of September 8, 2013

Kyle Bekker (born September 2, 1990) is a Canadian soccer player who currently plays for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.

Career

Youth

Bekker was born in Oakville, Ontario and began his youth soccer career with the Oakville Bluestars winning back-to-back Ontario Cup Championships in 2004 and 2005 and a National Championship in 2004.^[1] In 2006, he moved onto the Mississauga Dixie Dominators, where he won the Ontario Cup in 2006 and 2007 adding another National Championship in 2006. In 2007, he also played with Sigma FC, where in March of that year, his team played eight matches in the Netherlands against professional youth academies. His time over there earned him a trial with Ajax's youth academy, which ended up lasting six weeks until his inability to receive a European work permit led to his return to Canada.^[2][3]

At 18, helped Sigma FC climb the ranks for the Ontario Soccer League Men's Divisions. Over his four years in the OSL, Bekker scored 28 goals and registered 35 assists. He played with current Toronto FC teammate Emery Welshman during this period.

Bekker eventually received interest from colleges in the United States before accepting a scholarship to attend Boston College. During his four years at Boston College, Bekker played in 80 games, starting 79 of those, while scoring 17 goals and adding 22 assists.^[2][3] He picked up several awards on his way including ACC All-Freshman-Team in 2009 and ACC All-First-Team in 2011 and 2012.

Bekker trained with Toronto FC during the summer of 2011, trained with Montreal Impact and Seattle Sounders in the Summer of 2012. He had a trial with Crystal Palace in December, 2012, before work permit issues led to signing a pro contract with MLS and entering the MLS Draft.^[3]

Professional

Bekker signed a contract with MLS on January 6, 2013.^[4] He was drafted third overall in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC on January 17, 2013.^[5] Bekker made his debut for Toronto on March 2, in a 1-0 away defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps FC.^[6]

International

Bekker played in the 2012 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament. On January 18, 2013, he received his first call up by the Canadian national team for friendlies against Denmark and United States.^[7] Bekker made his senior team debut as a starter against Denmark, the game ended in a 4-0 defeat.^[8] On June 27, 2013 Bekker was listed as a part of the confirmed 23-man squad for Colin Miller's Canada squad for 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.^[9]

Career statistics

As of November 12, 2013.

International stats

Statistics as of October 20, 2013

See also

• List of current MLS players

References

External links

• MLS player profile
• canadasoccer.com
• Kyle Bekker at National-Football-Teams.com

v t e Canada squad – 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Hirschfeld 2 Ledgerwood 3 Morgan 4 Porter 5 Edgar 6 de Guzman 7 Teibert 8 Johnson (c) 9 Ricketts 10 Jackson 11 Haber 12 Nakajima-Farran 13 Pacheco 14 Piette 15 Bekker 16 Edwini-Bonsu 17 de Jong 18 Borjan 19 Straith 20 Henry 21 Osorio 22 Thomas 23 Alemán Coach: Miller