That was not going to be the end of Kate Wantuch’s soccer career.
Wantuch has remained committed to the sport since her father Ed’s death on Oct. 22.
“It was a no-brainer,” she said. “Part of the reason I got so serious with soccer was because of my dad. He was a really good athlete, and he always pushed me to be my best. I would never stop playing — because it’s for him.”
But after two years at Andrean, where Wantuch was a standout starting goalkeeper from day one and played in two semistate games and a state championship game, she has transferred to Chesterton. She cited the drives to the campus in Merrillville from Chesterton, where her family lives just a few minutes from the high school.
“I loved Andrean,” she said. “I loved my team, and I loved all of my friends there. But that drive was just too much.”
Wantuch played her final game for Andrean on Oct. 22, just hours after her father died. She was in net for the 59ers’ 1-0 loss to Fort Wayne Canterbury in the Class 1A Chesterton Semistate game that was played on what has become her new home field.
What Wantuch said that night regarding her decision to play became the mantra that carried her career forward.
“He would have wanted me to be here,” she said.
Wantuch took two weeks off after the 2022 high school season before she returned to club soccer, which became much different without her father.
“It was like my daily life routine changed,” she said. “For my travel team, he was the one who took me everywhere, and at every game, he’d come up to me and give me a hug. Sometimes I’d feel embarrassed by it, but I was still always looking for him.”
Escorting Wantuch to those tournaments — with trips to Florida and Arizona among the destinations — became a group effort, sometimes handled by her mother, Monica, or her siblings, Molly or Eamon.
Wantuch said soccer kept her busy and that the people around her ensured she was able to keep going.
“My family’s been really supportive, and I have a lot of good, supportive friends who’ve helped me by checking up on me,” she said.
That group of friends includes several Chesterton players who are club teammates, too, including the senior trio of defender Ella Keane, midfielder Emma Skalka and midfielder Olivia Virgil. Those relationships seemed to help Wantuch adapt to her new surroundings, according to Chesterton coach Ben Forgey.
“Kids are resilient, and maybe she’s more resilient than others,” Forgey said. “She has the safety of a friend network, and we have a good group that’s welcomed her. Plus, she’s just got a great attitude.”
Wantuch brought that attitude into a new situation at Chesterton: a competition for the starting spot with junior goalkeeper Kori Downs, who played in 15 games last season.
“I’d rather have it this way than just walking on to the team and getting it,” Wantuch said. “This is a sport. It’s fun to compete for a position that you want to earn, and we’re still friendly.”
Downs agreed, saying the ongoing competition between the two has not affected their daily interactions at practice.
“Having someone to compete with for that first position is helping both of us improve our play,” Downs said. “And there are no hard feelings with that. We both respect each other. She fits in with this team so well, it’s like she’s been with us forever.”
Wantuch said she believes she has become a better player in the past 10 months in more ways than one.
“If I got through this, then I can get through anything else,” she said. “If there’s something that’s challenging me or if I’ve had a bad day in general, nothing’s going to compare to that one day when everything happened. I’m mentally stronger now.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
