KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Coming into his fourth professional season, Kevin Ellis was just looking to win some minutes on the right side of MLS' most heavily loaded defense.
A few things have happened to Sporting Kansas City's backline since then – injuries both nagging and season-ending, international absences for key players – and the unit that was so solid over the previous three seasons became the personification of flux in 2014.
Funny thing happened to Ellis along the way, though: The Homegrown player came into his own as the guy who would step into any position in the back four if manager Peter Vermes needed him to.
That's how a 5-foot-9 fullback became indispensable in central defense – so much so that he could get the start there on Saturday in Philadelphia (7 pm ET; Stream of the Week), even if Aurelien Collin is cleared to return from a right ankle sprain that has kept him out for three league matches.
“It's taken a while, a few years, but it's definitely where I pictured myself when I first started out,” Ellis told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “I'm just happy to be able to play and help the team win and get into the playoffs. Hopefully we can take it from there.”
Ellis has made 18 league appearances this season, with 14 starts, and has started 19 matches across all competitions for the defending MLS Cup Champs. Along the way, he has racked up three assists in MLS and one goal in CONCACAF Champions League play.
Sporting have seven clean sheets across all competitions when he's on the pitch, including their last two matches in league play.
“He's an ultimate team player,” center back and captain Matt Besler told reporters after he and Ellis helped Kansas City shut out Chicago 2-0 last weekend. “He's been asked to do a lot of things this year, and he's responded every single time. Tough player. Athletic. Physical. And he's a competitor. He's a guy that you want on your team.”
That's not bad for a guy who went on loan to USL PRO side Oklahoma City Energy in April after opening the year with three full-90 outings at fullback in Sporting's first four matches.
He came back in May, after right back Chance Myers' season-ending Achilles tear, only to see Igor Juliao become Vermes' first choice at that spot. Then again, Ellis was badly needed elsewhere.
Sporting's central defense, arguably the league's best coming into the season, was left shorthanded by Besler's World Cup absence, Ike Opara's season-ending ankle injury and Collin's ongoing struggle with a hamstring strain. Then there was the quad injury to defensive midfielder Uri Rosell that moved Lawrence Olum – tabbed as Besler's fill-in after Opara went down in late March – into the No. 1 spot there.
Rosell was sold to Sporting Clube de Portugal in June, removing Olum as a center-back option until Jorge Claros signed after his own World Cup stint with Honduras, and then-16-year-old Erik Palmer-Brown was Sporting's only remaining natural center back. In other words, things were dire.
And so, Ellis stepped back into a position he hadn't played since his college days – a spot that forced him to make up for his height disadvantage with strength, hustle and positional awareness. From the outset, he had his club's confidence.
“He can play anywhere,” goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum said. “That's the beauty of him. He adds the depth that we've talked about and had to use. He's really proven himself. You can trust that he's going to get the job done. He battles, and that's what you need back there – the guy who's never going to give up on a play.”
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Ellis proved a quicker-than-expected fit in the middle of the backline, making two appearances at center back on the MLS Team of the Week in May, and has continued to turn in solid performances at the position when needed since then.
It’s a good thing, too, as Olum has become a regular for his native Kenya, increasing his international duties, and Palmer-Brown is out for the year with a stress fracture in his foot.
His contributions – especially after making just two career starts across all competitions in his first three seasons – have earned Ellis plenty of credit from his manager and teammates.
“What we do and what these guys do is not an easy job,” Vermes told reporters after Ellis assisted on Graham Zusi's game-winner in the win over Chicago. “You work and work and work and you try to get your opportunity. And when you get your opportunity, you have to be ready and play well.
“Sometimes, you are not sure if you are ready and you get thrown into the fire. He's been thrown into a lot of situations this year, and I have to say in a lot of situations he has done very well. He has come a long way.”
A lot of that credit goes to the players around him, Ellis said, especially the perennial All-Stars he has played alongside and in place of.
“When you play next to Matt Besler and Aurelien Collin, it makes your life easier,” he said. “Those guys are world-class players, and they've helped me mature into a defender, a center back. I give a lot of credit to those guys and the coaching staff for making sure I'm prepared and the physical strength guys to make sure I can play that position.”
His teammates, though, say Ellis has earned the playing time and recognition on his own.
“Since the beginning, I've had a lot of faith in him,” Collin said. “He's a very strong player. He can play right back, center back, even left back. So I'm not surprised. I'm happy he gives me some credit, but for me, all credit is his. I'm very proud of what he's done so far.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
