Whenever they got the chance growing up, Chris Makowski and his brother, Matt, would make the walk from their house to the nearest soccer field. Matt would take his spot in the goal, and Chris would be out in the field taking shot after shot against his brother.

In return, Matt would hurl words of advice stemming from his own experiences back at Chris. The words hit home with Chris, who is three years younger than Matt, and his level of play increased each time he took the field.

‘It helped me a lot, because he was older,’ Chris said. ‘He could kind of help me through things, work me through things.’

In his freshman season, Chris Makowski has become one of the strongest defenders in Syracuse’s (2-7, 0-2 Big East) back four, consistently utilizing his size and strength to his advantage against opposing scorers. He’s played in all nine games starting six of them and has helped a defensive unit that has held down leads and maintained one-goal deficits all season. The play of Makowski and the SU defense will be crucial once again tonight as Syracuse tries to snap a five-game losing streak when it plays Louisville (7-3, 0-2) at 7 p.m. at Cardinal Park.

All those days of taking shots against his brother, who is now the starting goalkeeper for American, have paid off. Makowski gives the Orange a defender who is versatile and a threat on offense as well.

SU head coach Ian McIntyre said Makowski is a ‘warrior’ who adds a tough, physical element to Syracuse’s defense. Makowski was one of the first players to give McIntyre a verbal commitment after he got the SU head coaching job in the spring of 2010.

‘We get the most out of him,’ McIntyre said. ‘He leaves it all out there. He’s been a real rock back there in the opportunities he’s played. He’s got athleticism and tenacity and a superb work ethic. So you put that all together, you get a pretty good college player.’

McIntyre said Makowski is still learning how to be more ‘consistent’ with the ball, and also needs to improve his decision-making. That’ll come, he said, with more time on the field and maturity. And that will come with additional chances to push forward out of the back for Syracuse, something that Ian McIntyre said Makowski will have the opportunity to do as the season goes on.

Fellow defender Ryan Tessler has watched Makowski’s growth for the last four years, as the two played on the same club team in Pennsylvania. No matter how big an opposing player is, Tessler said Makowski never hesitates when faced with a potential collision. He isn’t afraid to dive or slam in to steal the ball away. 

That aggressive style didn’t fade away once Makowski reached the college level.

‘You can see his development over the course of the year,’ Tessler said. ‘At the beginning of the year, he was a freshman who just got thrown into the fire it seemed like at left back. He held his own, but now you’re really starting to see him become more of a player. His confidence has really risen.’

Makowski’s accelerated maturation process isn’t necessarily surprising, considering he already knew what it was like to be a college athlete when he was still in high school.

Whenever he had time off from school, he’d make the trip to Washington D.C. and stay with his brother, living in the dorm and watching his brother’s work ethic on and off the field at American. Arriving at Syracuse, Makowski understood how much time he would need to invest in training and practice to get his name etched in the starting lineup.

Makowski regularly texts or calls his brother to update each other on their seasons. And at some point during those calls, the big brother may still offer advice for dealing with certain situations.

‘Probably the biggest thing he’s told me is just not to get down about stuff,’ Makowski said. ‘Just keep working because stuff happens that you can’t control. You just have to do what you can do, and keep your head up and do your best because that’s all that matters.’

[email protected]

Published on October 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Chris: [email protected] | @chris_iseman