By Alan Duffy
Dubliner Stephanie Roche has experienced quite a year (and a half) since she scored that wonder-goal for Irish Women’s National League side Peamount United.
That fabulous strike propelled the striker into the wild world of internet fame and ultimately, a FIFA Puskás award nomination which saw her rub shoulders with the great and the good of the game. In the end, only James Rodriguez’s World Cup wonder-strike would stop her winning the Puskás prize, but now the 25-year-old is set for a move Stateside.
Last June, on the back of that famous goal against Wexford Youths, Roche moved to French side ASPTT Albi. However, things didn’t work out for the Irish international, with the language barrier amongst other things proving difficult to overcome.But now, Roche has signed a deal with National Women’s Soccer League side Houston Dash, a professional team. She said:
“No Irish woman has ever gone over to play in the NWSL so it is going to be a big challenge for me. I am under no illusions it is going to be easy.
“I am going to have to work hard and get my place in the team so I am really looking forward to getting over and meeting my team-mates and getting to know them better.
“They (Houston Dash) share the same ground as the men’s team so there is going to be a lot of people in the stadium. The league over there is very well supported and professional and I am really looking forward to playing there in front of a lot more than 95 people hopefully.
“Robbie Keane was very supportive of me in the Puskas Award and it would be nice to meet him to say thank you for all his support so who knows, maybe when they come to play Houston I will be able to hook up with him and have a chat.”
Good luck to her. And here’s that goal just one more time…
Video: RTE NewsNow
Photos: Getty Images & NWSL