Kyra Carusa shared her pride in "hometown hero" Abbie Larkin as the Republic of Ireland continued to savour Tuesday night's Nations League play-off success in Belgium.
Larkin's clever finish in the 90th minute swung the tie in Ireland's favour (5-4 on aggregate), sending them back up to League A ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, which begin in February.
It was a magic moment for Larkin, who sprinted towards her delirious family in the stands.
Carusa felt the significance of the goal, too, as one of Ireland's brightest young talents served notice of her undoubted potential.
"Oh my Lord, hometown hero, hometown hero," beamed Carusa.
"I told her I could have cried, because I feel like a proud older sister.
"Fatigued, I'm praying, thank God the ball goes in the back of the net. But ultimately, again, it just goes to show the girls and the way we are as a team.
"You have a player who didn't get on the pitch at all (in the first leg) in her back yard, to then do that, come on this pitch and do what she does, it's a testament to her as a player.
"I have the most fun playing with Abbie every single time.
"I said to her, 'I just feel like I know exactly what you want to do, you know exactly what I want to do'. It's the best feeling. And sometimes you just need that good vibe."
The vibes are indeed good for the Girls in Green who are now guaranteed a seeded play-off for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
Getting past a strong Belgian team is a serious confidence booster, though Carusa was keen to stress Ireland have always had high expectations in terms of what they can achieve.
"Having qualified for a World Cup before, that's the standard for us," she said.
"We keep moving to the next, because we know that other nations now are going to look at that and think, 'wow, I don't want to be drawn with Ireland'.
"We're incredibly hard to score on, we're f*****g phenomenal in front of the goal."
"I think the greatest thing about the game was that it was such a testament to us as a nation. I think our presence, our togetherness, our physical push is like everything with Ireland.
"You feel it in the way we tackle and the way we press forward and the way we get setpieces, the way we score goals, the way we celebrate.
"We're at our best when we just go to play.
"We're incredibly hard to score on, we're f*****g phenomenal in front of the goal. We make every chance matter, and we put teams on their back foot."
Carusa radiates positivity, even when results are bad.
The San Diego Wave striker bubbled with excitement when reflecting on the game in Leuven - and had special praise for the travelling army of Irish fans.
"They came out for us in truck loads," she added.
"Not only that, you could feel them and hear them. And that was a hard stadium to play in.
"You could hear that go on (a booming brass band in the home end), but there was something about... when you had a corner down on that side and you could just hear, it felt like Ireland was behind you.
"Then when Abbie puts the ball in the net, and she gets to celebrate on the side with her family, that's crazy. That's unreal, but that's the Irish for you."
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