Eight minutes after Homegrown Diego Luna scored Real Salt Lake’s second goal against LA Galaxy on Saturday night to even the game at two apiece, RSL Academy stars **Axel Kei** and **Zavier Gozo** stood on the touchline waiting to enter their first-ever Major League Soccer match.
“You imagine it all the time,” Gozo said. “But when you’re actually there, it’s 10 times better. Standing next to the fourth official, seeing the stadium, and then coming in, it’s so surreal.”
The game itself was somewhat of an oddity, having been rescheduled from August 20 due to Hurricane Hilary, leaving RSL without Rubio Rubín, Jefferson Savarino, Braian Ojeda, and Kevon Lambert while they were away on international duty. RSL Homegrown Justen Glad was also absent, facing a suspension after seeing red the previous week at home against Kansas City.
The Galaxy, who had already been eliminated from playoff contention, scored twice in the opening 45 minutes before an Anderson Julio first-half stoppage time goal and Luna’s 76th-minute equalizer turned the tide late in the match. With Kei and Gozo waiting in the wings, the stage was set for the two teenagers to make their appearance.
“When we were warming up on the sideline, we told each other whether one of us or both of us go in the game, we need to make an impact and show what we can do,” Gozo said.
At 15 years and 289 days old, Kei became the youngest player in Club history to appear in an MLS match as he stepped onto the pitch at Dignity Health Sports Park in the 84th minute for Anderson Julio. Just a year his senior, fellow Academy product Zavier Gozo entered the match for Maikel Chang, becoming the third-youngest player in Club history to make his MLS debut at 16 years and 206 days old.
“I think about it like this: if you’re young or not, if you’re good enough you’re on the pitch,” Kei said about being the fourth-youngest player ever to appear in an MLS match.
“I don’t see the age, I don’t care. That's the game of football, how I see it. Of course, I don’t like getting too comfortable. It’s not good. So I’m always trying to do my best every day, and I get to learn from the guys like Damir (Kreilach) who have been playing since before I was born. They help me to learn and improve every day.”
Both players impressed on Saturday night with a sense of maturity on and off the pitch. Despite their young age, the path to their MLS debut has been long and winding, but each twist and turn has refined them in their development as first-team players.
From Côte D’Ivoire to Carson, California
Havelange Beni De Dieu Kei Wonflonhi Jean-Desire (Axel for short) was born in the Ivory Coast, but raised in Brazil before moving to San Diego in 2017. In Southern California, Kei played for the San Diego Youth Soccer Club, a developmental organization run by the LA Galaxy.
In 2020, influenced by his coach in California, Kei moved to Herriman to join Real Salt Lake Academy. Since his arrival to the Beehive state, he’s experienced a series of impressive firsts mixed with a handful of setbacks that could have derailed a kid so young.
After winning the MLX NEXT Cup in 2021 and the tournament’s Golden Boot award, Kei made his professional debut with the Real Monarchs a few months later at the age of 13, making him the youngest professional athlete in American team sports history.
In January of 2022, Kei continued to make history, signing a contract with the first team, breaking Freddy Adu’s 18-year record for youngest signing in the MLS. Kei played in 13 matches with the Monarchs that year, scoring three goals and recording four assists.
The young Ivorian made his RSL debut in a friendly on September 22 of last year, but since then he’s struggled to stay on the pitch. Multiple injuries kept Kei out for a majority of the Monarchs 2023 season, limiting him to just six matches and one goal. But Kei was determined, again, to not let another injury get in his way of accomplishing the next goal, making his MLS debut.
On Saturday night in Carson, California in front of his family, facing the same club that first introduced him to American soccer in 2017, Kei stepped onto the pitch under the bright lights of the MLS.
“Yeah it was full circle. I was getting messages before the game from Galaxy people, telling me I was a traitor,” Kei chuckled. “But I don’t care. They’re in the past and I don’t focus on the past. I'm at RSL now and my full focus is here. I didn’t care about the full circle, I’m playing for my team and that’s my focus.”
Entering in the 84th minute, his debut only lasted a few moments, but Kei established his presence and immediately looked like he belonged.
“A dream come true, 100%. Being able to play with the guys and experiencing that level, the pace of the game, I just wanted to experience it. It’s been a dream of mine, and I’m glad the coaches had the trust in me to put me on.”
As if the moment couldn’t have been any sweeter, Kei’s Academy teammate and longtime friend Zavier Gozo was right alongside him, making his professional debut as well.
“It was great having him there. The club produces good players all the time from the Academy. I was one of them, he’s following that path too. It was great to be there with another youngster. We have a great relationship and support each other.”
The Local Kid
Gozo shared the same sentiment as his teammate.
“It was special,” he said. “I’ve been in the Academy with Axel and have known him for a long time, so to do it with one of my guys was special.”
Gozo’s journey to Saturday night in Carson began not too far from RSL’s Zions Bank Real Academy, just thirty minutes south in Eagle Mountain, Utah.
Developing as a youth player with local clubs Comba and La Roca, Gozo made the switch to the RSL Academy in the summer of 2021. His impact on the U15s was immediate, solidifying himself in his first year as the team’s top goalscorer and leading the team back to a second-consecutive MLS NEXT Cup Final, while also winning the tournament’s Golden Boot award.
His success at the Club drew the attention of the U.S. Youth National Team, where he has earned several call-ups and camp invitations with the U15s and U16s.
In December 2022, Gozo signed a contract with the Real Monarchs, making him a professional player at the age of 15. He made his pro debut earlier this year for the Monarchs in March before suffering a season-altering injury that sidelined him for three months.
After returning to the Monarchs in June, Gozo consistently started for the team down the stretch, and scored his first professional goal against San Jose Earthquakes II in a 1-1 draw on August 9 to draw a silver lining on a season that didn’t go as planned.
“I was hoping to debut (with the first team) this year, but after my injury I didn't know,” Gozo said. “As I’ve come back though, getting this chance to play (in the MLS) was a driving factor for me to keep going at my best. I’m looking forward to what’s next.”
The Best is Yet to Come
In many ways, Kei and Gozo debuting for the first team on Saturday was the end of a chapter, the pinnacle of the youngsters’ budding careers. All of the dreams and hard work over the last several years from the Academy to the Monarchs to RSL had paid off, if only for a small moment.
But while both recognized the magnitude of their accomplishments up to this point, neither shows any desire for complacency. If anything, Saturday night in Carson only whetted their appetite for life as a first-team player at RSL, where they feel a part of the team.
“They welcomed us to the group, we didn’t feel like strangers,” Kei said. “I appreciated it, that really stood out to me. They didn’t push us away because we were young. We talked to everybody in the locker room, they gave us confidence to go out there and be ready to step in and give it our all for the team. They believed in us.”
At 15 and 16 years old respectively, both Kei and Gozo have long and illustrious careers ahead of them, but that belief –from teammates, the coaching staff, and themselves– will propel them to new heights beyond imagination.
