Athlone Town's American-born striker Dana Scheriff is looking to fire the midlanders to FAI Cup glory this weekend and increase her chances of breaking into the Republic of Ireland squad.
Scheriff has enjoyed a brilliant campaign in the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division, scoring 13 times to claim the Golden Boot award.
Ahead of Sunday's showdown with Shelbourne at Tallaght Stadium, the Long Islander revealed she is eligible to pull on the green jersey. There's been no contact from the FAI yet, but a call-up to the national side is a huge target for the talented attacker.
"My grandmother was born in Dublin so I'm in the process of getting my Irish passport, which would be pretty big for me," she said.
"My mother was born in England and right now I have dual citizenship with the British passport, which is why I'm able to play in Ireland, but I'm trying to get the Irish one.
"I'm not too close to my mom's side, I've never met my grandma, but I ended up finding out that she was born in Dublin and I'm in the process of getting all her documents, which is obviously very challenging.
"But this is actually the first time I'm saying it out loud!
"[Playing for Ireland] would be huge for me. The US and the English are two of the most dominant football sides in the world and the Irish are on their way up right now, and it would be huge to try to break into that if I'm able to."
"It's been a journey but I think it helped me become the player I am today."
Scheriff has had an eclectic career. She played four years of collegiate football in the US and then headed to England to study for a Masters, lining out in the Championship with Durham. A move to Icelandic outfit IA Akrane in the height of Covid followed - she continued her studies remotely - before a 2021 switch to Athlone.
"It's a bit crazy coming from New York to Athlone," laughed Scheriff, who suffered a bad ankle injury last year that wiped out her season.
"I had an agent who put me in contact with the management at Athlone Town. We had a meeting, everything went really well, and from there, I've just enjoyed my time here and decided to stay.
"Sixth game of the [2022] season I got injured. I got an ankle injury which put me out for over a year.
"I tore every ligament in my ankle, so I needed a reconstructive surgery. I healed, I'm back, I'm fitter than ever. It's been a journey but I think it helped me become the player I am today."
Scheriff has enjoyed an unlikely reunion in Athlone - she played a part in convincing her old roommate at Monmouth University, Maddison Gibson, to join the club. It helped with the unease that can come when you're trying to settle in a new country, albeit they didn't get much time together on the pitch due to Scheriff's injury.
"At the time I didn't know that I was going to be out for as long as I was," she added.
"I knew I was injured but I was like, 'there's a chance that I might not need surgery' so I was pushing Maddison to come play with me, that was the bargain chip. It ended up the way it was. It was fine this year, we got to play together.
"We've been friends for over seven years, so that was really comforting having her here as well to support me - and me support her."
Scheriff had to watch from the stands a year ago as Shels beat Athlone 2-0 to lift the FAI Cup. This year they have a new manager, Ciaran Kilduff, and a very different looking squad.
If Athlone are to have any chance of upsetting Shelbourne on Sunday, they must supply Scheriff with decent service. She's a player bang in form with a fierce determination to claim silverware.
"I've watched the team play in some pretty big games and now I'm really excited to be a part of one," Scheriff said.
"I ended up staying [in Athlone] for my recovery. I did that because I wanted to still be a part of the team, I didn't want to go home and isolate myself, be on my own. I made that decision on my own to still be here and I think it was the right decision, because I got to be a part of something special last year as well."
Watch the Women's FAI Cup final, Athlone Town v Shelbourne, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to live radio commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1.
