Stephanie Roche achieves White House goal

Stephanie Roche had a spring in her step again on Tuesday and it wasn’t because she had just scored another wonder goal – she had just met the president of the United States of America.

Three deft touches and internet stardom over her stunning 2013 strike for Peamount United against Wexford Youths in the Women’s National League brought the 25-year-old from Shankill in Co Dublin to the White House for the annual St Patrick’s Day party and an encounter with Barack Obama.

Shake his hand

“I got to shake his hand, which I was really happy about. I was trying to get a picture and shake his hand but I just said to myself if I get to shake his hand I will be happy,” she said, describing the annual shamrock ceremony at the White House as “brilliant”.

Roche has been in an orbit since January when she attended the Fifa world footballing awards in Zurich and mixed with global stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and James Rodriguez, the Colombia player who beat Roche to the Puskas Award for best goal. The visit in Washington is just another page in this fairytale story.

"It is like something out of a film," she told The Irish Times after the White House party. "People wouldn't believe what has happened to us in the last few months."

Roche will start training with her new team, Houston Dash in Texas, and get back to what made her famous: playing football.

“Next week is when I can focus on football and remember everything that has happened and talk about it a bit more. We haven’t had time to let it sink in at all. It has just been mental,” she said.

Her first game is the season opener against Washington Spirit on April 10th at the BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. Ireland plays the USA in California on May 10th.

Wonder goal

The Houston stadium holds 22,000 but the team, promoting Roche’s arrival and another wonder goal she scored for Ireland against Costa Rica last week, is trying to draw a crowd of 10,000. Roche hopes that she is doing a good job as a role model for young girls.

“It is great for young kids to be able to see ‘she’s a girl, she plays football and now she has been recognised by everyone around the world’. It is something that I am really proud of,” she said.

She acknowledges that the “pressure is on” to deliver more spectacular goals but says she is always working on her technique.

“I am going to try to beat it if I can,” she said.