Andrean sophomore goalkeeper Kate Wantuch knew her biggest fan would’ve wanted her in the net.
So that’s where she was Saturday night, even after her father, Ed, died early in the morning.
“I just feel like my dad would’ve wanted me to play,” she said. “He was always my No. 1 fan. I know that, with what happened, he would not have wanted me to miss this. He would have wanted me to be here.”
Back in her familiar spot for Andrean’s Class 1A Chesterton Semistate game, Wantuch made five saves, but Fort Wayne Canterbury eventually pulled out a 1-0 win in overtime.
Andrean (14-3-4) and Canterbury (12-8-2) stayed scoreless through regulation before a goal by Olivia Menor in the second OT period put the Cavaliers ahead for good.
But the result on the field was not the primary thought in Andrean coach Jeff Clapman’s mind after the game. Wantuch and her family were.
“It was such an emotional day,” Clapman said. “And she played so well.”
Clapman said there were discussions earlier Saturday regarding Wantuch’s availability, but his talks with her family quickly pointed to an answer.
“She wanted to play, and her mom said they were committed to her playing,” Clapman said. “They felt like that’s what her dad would’ve wanted. So that’s what we did.”
Wantuch left her teammates in awe, according to senior midfielder Emily Ziegelhofer.
“We were just astounded at how strong she is, to be able to come out here and focus her mind on the game,” Ziegelhofer said. “She just left it all on the field.”
After the lineup decision was settled, Clapman attempted to prepare for a situation that had no definitive approach.
“For this, it’s just telling the family that, whatever they need, we’ll give it to them,” he said. “The stuff on the field we can sort out.”
Senior midfielder Bella Cuadra said the 59ers “wanted to play for Kate’s dad” and hoped to use his memory as an inspiration on the field.
“Mr. Wantuch had such a big personality,” Cuadra said. “We just wanted to channel even the slightest bit of his energy to get through this because he was so full of energy.”
Andrean turned that energy into long stretches of controlled possession for significant portions of the game. But Clapman said that the prime scoring chances that carried Andrean through this postseason never materialized.
“You have to give them some credit — they’re a good team,” Clapman said of the Cavaliers. “We had some good pockets of space to play, and we had possession. We were just unlucky that we couldn’t get any shots on frame. We just never had that one good opportunity that we usually have.”
Despite the loss, Ziegelhofer took pride in Andrean reaching the semistate round for the second straight season following a five-year gap between semistate appearances. The 59ers lost in the state championship game last year.
“It’s a tough loss, but we had a really good run,” she said. “I’m really proud of us for getting this far.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.