Grant Chong sat in the bleachers at SU Soccer Stadium and watched as Syracuse’s nine seniors, one by one, were honored on Senior Day. Chris Makowski, his roommate. Nick Perea and Trevor Alexander, his former pregame passing partners. Jordan Murrell, his golfing buddy.

From several rows behind the SU bench, wearing a sweatshirt and ski cap, Chong watched his friends and former teammates receive accolades for commitment and dedication to SU soccer.

A senior, Chong played for the Orange from 2011–13 and was a key reserve last season. But in June, the midfielder chose to step away from the team to focus on his chemical engineering degree. SU players still consider him part of the team, though, and Chong will follow the Orange’s postseason run from the stands and through streaming online feeds.

“I came to this school saying, ‘I’m going to be a student-athlete,’” Chong said two weeks ago, while sitting in the lobby of the Life Sciences Complex. “But I almost felt like I was just an athlete with soccer and the amount of time it took. I loved every second of (soccer). But it really wasn’t that hard of a decision.

“I’ve played soccer my whole life. I wasn’t getting tired of it, but I just needed to move on and start focusing on school a little bit more.”

Chong, though, tried desperately to prolong his playing career. With the help of SU Athletics academic coordinator Mark Trumbo, Chong thought of several ideas that would have allowed him to play this season, from summer classes to taking some required classes next semester. Chong even sent a two-page email to a professor asking to do an independent study.

But nothing could be done to avoid a once-a-week class he would have had to miss and a twice-a-week class that meets at the same time as SU’s practices.

In June, Chong visited his mother in Singapore, where she was doing business. His decision was made and a conversation with her confirmed it.

In mid-July, Chong visited Syracuse on his way back to his home in Brighton, Michigan. Though SU head coach Ian McIntyre wasn’t in the team’s offices when Chong came by, Chong told the head coach his decision when the two spoke on the phone that night.

“They were completely understanding of it,” Chong said. “They’d known I’d been struggling with school and the mix of an engineering major and soccer. So, they respected it. They honored it.”

Chong told his senior classmates and then the rest of the team.

They still consider “Chongy” part of the team — especially the senior class that Chong said, in a way, rebuilt the program. It’s a group that bonded over prank wars during freshman year on the third and fourth floors of Ernie Davis and grew during golf outings at Drumlins Country Club.

“Once we found out that Drumlins was free with your SU ID, we went out as much as we could,” said former SU goalkeeper Andrew Coughlin, now the starting goalkeeper at Canisius College. “It was for bragging rights until the next time we went. It was pretty competitive, but none of us were very good.”

Before the seasons changed this year, Chong and Murrell went to Drumlins three or four times a week after Chong’s classes and after Murrell finished training. Sometimes after playing nine holes, they would sneak over and play holes 16, 17 and 18.

The group also took trips to Toggenburg Ski Resort in Fabius, New York. Last year, Chong, Makowski and goalkeeper Matt Stith took a four-day trip to ski in Killington, Vermont.

“He’s been with us for three years,” SU defender Skylar Thomas said. “You can’t take that away from us.”

Before the Oct. 31 Senior Night ceremony, Murrell told Chong he wished Chong could walk out onto the field with the team’s seniors.

“He’s still here and he’s still around the team,” Murrell said. “He goes to every game. Even the cold and rainy ones, he’s there supporting. He’s always going to be, at least in my head, a part of the team.”

And for Chong, that won’t change.

“If they get an NCAA game nearby, I’ll drive,” Chong said. “I will easily drive. I will keep on supporting them.”

Published on November 19, 2014 at 12:25 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu