The goal that dreams are made of

It’s been quite a week for SFH’s American diarist Rebecca Barry, as a goal she scored became something of an internet phenomenon. Her wonder-strike in Richmond’s 4-1 win over Temple was first shared around the Munster and Irish hockey communities before being picked up on Twitter by the likes of Australian men’s international Luke Doerner and Russian international Alex Korolev. But then, things went global when she featured alongside Lionel Messi and LeBron James in ESPN’s fabled Top 10 Plays of the Week in the USA. The goal was subsequently featured on the Irish Examiner, Joe.ie, Balls.ie and on Paddy Power’s Facebook page, and the original video has topped 30,000 views. In this diary, Rebecca talks about one of the strangest weeks of her life! The reaction to the goal has been incredible. When it went in on Sunday, I didn’t think for one second that it would blow up this much. At the time, I was just so thankful it went in! Since the clip of it was put on the internet on Sunday evening, it has just escalated into something I could have never imagined. My phone has been going non-stop between Twitter, Facebook, texts and e-mails. Having it end up on ESPN really was the icing on the cake. When I first heard yesterday morning, I have to admit I wasn’t fully sure what it actually meant. I was soon informed that it’s a pretty big deal! It goes without saying that I’m delighted, but the three best thing about this for me is that Mark Kwolek, our media guy, is getting his work seen by a large audience. He is a fantastically talented at what he does and this truly is testament to his hard work and commitment to always promoting the Richmond Spiders.

The next best thing to come of this is that hockey has gotten quite a lot of recognition. I was told that the only other time field hockey has featured in the top 10 on ESPN was when Shannon Taylor on the USA women’s team scored to beat Argentina in the Pan Am games this year. Usually the main things to feature ESPN top 10 plays are American football, basketball or baseball. So having field hockey on it was a welcome surprise! The final best thing to come of this is that the University of Richmond is getting the publicity it deserves. There is a truly fantastic setup here in the athletics department, they support the athletes as much as they can and we are so well looked after. I keep saying this but I am just so lucky. Ever since I started in the University of Richmond, that is all I’ve ever said. I’m even more lucky now than ever! To think one single goal could go this far really blows my mind. Dad has always told me that you make your own luck, and I am a firm believer in that but at the same time, on any given day you just need that little bit of luck given to you. Last Sunday was one of those days. We were drawing 1-1 against a strong Temple team and we had to score. My team-mate passed me the ball and I went for it, I didn’t over-think it or plan what happened. It just happened. The ball took a few lucky bounces and landed nicely so I could strike it. It’s something that I would probably never be able to replicate, unfortunately! While this media attention is fantastic and I am truly grateful for it all, my feet are firmly on the ground. We have not won anything. Neither myself nor my team will rest on our laurels until we achieve what we set out to achieve at the beginning of the season. We simply can’t afford to. If anything, all that has happened since Sunday has made me more determined for our team to fulfill the potential we have. One goal won’t define me as a player or our team as a whole. To read the rest of Rebecca’s diaries for SFH, click here. You can also follow her on Twitter (@BeccaBa)