Stephanie Roche is only a few days in Texas but she is already thinking how the heat in the American South might affect her game.
On Saturday, a day after arriving in Texas, she watched her new team Houston Dash in US National Soccer League play a squad game and her boyfriend Dean Zambra pinked up after an hour in the Texan March sun.
“I am told the heat gets very, very warm. We were out yesterday and watched that game and my boyfriend had his jumper off and he had a farmer’s tan already from sitting in the heat for an hour,” she said.
“I am going to have to get used to that. That was only in mild weather as well. It will get really, really hot in the summer. That is going to be the biggest difficulty.”
The Irish striker, who came second behind James Rodriguez’s golden World Cup strike in the Puskas Award for Fifa Goal of the Year last year, was the star attraction at the opening of the new Irish consulate in Austin on Sunday. Taoiseach Enda Kenny was there too.
Roche is making a very good habit of scoring wonder goals. She scored another gem for Ireland against Costa Rica last week, a video of which has become another internet hit for the Dubliner.
“It went on YouTube and it has gone crazy again,” she said, cutting a dash in a stunning white and red dress as she mingled and chatted with guests at “Ireland House” in downtown Austin.
The 25-year-old found fame for her remarkable strike for Peamont United against Wexford Youths in a National League game. She is not concerned that with this latest stunning volley, against Costa Rica in the Istria Cup in Croatia, that she is setting the bar too high with her capacity to surprise on the football pitch.
“If I score a tap-in for Houston, I will be happy. I would be happy with any goal as a striker. Anyone will tell you that - you score any goal, you’d be happy. They all count. As long as they hit the back of the net, they all count,” she said.
She’ll take a messy finish or a toe poke, she says. “I will take them all, whatever way they come,” she said.
Roche moved to the Texas team after a brief stint with French club ASPTT Albi where she struggled with the language barrier. She is joined by her boyfriend for three months as she settles into Texan life.
Arriving in Houston on Friday, she visited the training facilities where the men’s team, Houston Dynamo, train the following day.
She says that she was really impressed by how “professional” it all was, describing the facilities as “unbelievable.”
“I can’t really wait to get started,” she said. “I got a lot of stuff going on at the minute so we’re hoping over the next few days I will be able to settle in and get training with them and get settled.”
Roche has been invited to the St Patrick's Day party at the White House on Tuesday evening where President Barack Obama will host Taoiseach Enda Kenny and other Irish guests for the annual shamrock-giving ceremony. She is brimming with enthusiasm about the opportunities in the United States that her two-year contract with Houston brings along with the travel to New York, Washington, Boston and Chicago in a season.
“It is a great experience for myself as a footballer and to see the world. It was something I couldn’t turn down. I’m really happy with the opportunity I have been given. I am going to work as hard as I can and hopefully do well,” she said.
