Naperville Central junior Callie Tumilty knew what she wanted when she was looking for a college to continue her soccer career.
She found it when she visited Ohio State.
“I loved Ohio State,” Tumilty said. “When you step on campus, you kind of know, and while I was on campus, I could totally see myself there.
“It was one of the visits that I had the most fun on. The coaches made the visit really entertaining, and the players were really nice.”
Tumilty, a fleet-footed forward who hasn’t played soccer for Naperville Central, committed to the Buckeyes in September.
“I wanted to go to a big sports school, and I wanted to play in the Big Ten,” she said. “This campus was all together, and the city of Columbus is right nearby.”
Tumilty grew up as a multisport athlete, just like her parents, Jim Tumilty and Katrina Woolwine, who are Naperville Central graduates. Jim Tumilty played three sports and was best known for his success in football, which he played at Augustana. Katrina Woolwine was a state qualifier in both cross country and track, finishing fourth in the 3,200 meters in 1988.
But Callie Tumilty said her family connection to soccer is her aunt Beth Tumilty, who played soccer at Michigan State.
“She encouraged me a lot,” Callie Tumilty said. “She got me hooked on Michigan State, so that was one of the schools I really looked at as well. She kind of helped me want to play in college.”
Although Tumilty has played varsity basketball at Naperville Central since she was a freshman, she said soccer has always been her No. 1 sport. But it wasn’t until recently that she decided to pursue it at the next level.
“I played for Evolution Soccer Club for six to eight years, and I just loved it,” Tumilty said. “My freshman year, I switched to another club called Chicago FC United. That really got my love for the game growing because I wasn’t always sure that I wanted to play in college. Now I would consider playing pro because I enjoy it so much.”
With her college commitment finalized, Tumilty plans to play soccer for the Redhawks — eventually. She had intended to play next spring, but she suffered a torn ACL in her right knee during a club tournament in Michigan in early October.
“We were playing this really good team — they had won nationals a couple times — so I had a lot of adrenaline going,” Tumilty said.
“My knee buckled in the first five minutes, but I was so excited to play that I kept going. Then it buckled again, and I was in excruciating pain. I was in denial about it, but the trainer wouldn’t let me go back in.”
Tumilty, who had surgery Nov. 1, will be unable to play basketball or soccer this school year. Her injury wasn’t the only loss for Naperville Central’s girls basketball team in October. Star sophomore guard Trinity Jones, a major Power Five prospect who was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder last season, transferred to Bolingbrook.
“A lot of things happened to our basketball team in a week,” Tumilty said. “I would consider us looking at being state-bound, and then to lose two of our best players back to back, I was really disappointed.
“I really wanted to play basketball because I’m not going to be playing it for that much longer. That was a big thing for me.”
But Tumilty sees a silver lining in her injury.
“I think it will be good for me in the fact that it will help me,” Tumilty said. “I obviously need my legs to be stronger. I was scared of what Ohio State was going to think about me tearing my ACL, but they told me it obviously is very common.”
Tumilty is considering track in the spring since it’s a noncontact sport. She intends to play basketball and soccer for the Redhawks as a senior, which is good news for girls basketball coach Andy Nussbaum.
“She is super fast, defends very well, wants to attack the basket, and her teammates love her,” Nussbaum said.
“But the No. 1 thing that Callie brings to the team is she wants to win and she does not like losing. ‘Passion’ is a great word to describe it. She wants to win every time she does something.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.