2025-09-26, 02:50 PM - Word count:
I bounced lightly on my heels, awaiting the kick-off of my first minor-league SSL match, a home match against AS Paris. With CS Rova Mpanjaka being a new expansion team, it was the first time any of us would be playing together in an actual league match, so there was a lot of excitement and uncertainty in the air to see how the team would come together. I was playing on the left side as I had been in Istanbul, and in my first second-level match I was just looking to get comfortable with the pace of play.
When the match started, the more experienced AS Paris side controlled the pace of play, drawing first blood when Eric Belmont found the back of the net on a shot off a set piece in the 20th minute. Belmont soon doubled the lead in the 29th minute with a quick shot off a crossing pass, and Eden Empire IV made the score 3-0 for AS Paris scoring just before halftime.
With the score out of reach, the second half generally became about building chemistry with each other for our side. I managed to get a couple good chances, with one shot on goal that was parried away by the goalkeeper, but the score ended in a 4-1 defeat with Tank Denstro breaking the shutout late in injury time on a penalty kick. Even in the loss, I was pretty happy with how I'd played for my first game out of the Academy, having shown some of what I could do. Having the security of a two-year contract helped me feel secure, but I had never been one to shy away from trying bold plays even if they sometimes didn't work. This was something that set me apart from my older sister Caitlin; while her game as a hockey defender was all about using her vision and skating to make the smartest analytical plays in every situation, my game was built on creativity, speed, and power.
---
A few weeks later, we were back at home after matches in Budapest and Cairo to face off against F.C. Kaapstad. In the typical growing pains for an expansion team, we were down 4-0 in the second half and firmly in garbage time. In the 80th minute, a corner kick got batted around and ended up getting passed to me. It wasn't the ideal angle as the shot would be coming off my left foot, but I wound up and kicked it as hard as I could anyway. The shot arced beautifully off my foot and past the goalie's outstretched arms for my first-ever goal in the SSL proper. The match ended in another 4-1 loss to drop out record to 1-3 on the season, but I was still optimistic. I'd taken the chances that had come to me, even if they weren't perfect, and one had ended up in the back of the net for my first goal ever.
---
Our seventh match of the season saw us travel to Montreal, and this was a trip that I'd been looking forward to since the moment the schedule was announced. Not only for the game itself, but because I'd get to see Caitlin in person for the first time in months. I'd see the old town of Quebec City that Cait was always telling me about, see one of her hockey games in person, and she'd get to see my match.
On a day where Rova didn't have training, I took the first train of the day from Montreal up to Quebec City, smiling widely when I came out of the train station and saw my sister's face. "Orla!" she called out, smiling just as big.
"Cait!" I replied. "It's so good to see you," I said happily, pulling my older sister into a hug.
It was snowing in Quebec City as we ventured out into the old town, but being a worldwide league with games in all sorts of climates, the SSL had ways to deal with the winter climates and we usually didn't have to actually play in snow. I marveled at the site of the walls around Old Quebec and the Citadelle for which Caitlin's hockey team got their name. Even though Dublin was a very historic city on its own, and I got to see all sorts of amazing places while travelling with Rova, getting to see Quebec City with my favourite person in the world was a special experience.
"I can't believe you get to go past this every day on your way to the arena," I smiled, looking around in awe.
I'd never seen a professional hockey game live before, but that night was a first for me, and I got to see it from the lower bowl close to ice level - the perks of being a professional athlete with money. It didn't get off to a great start, with the visiting Thunder Bay Walleye jumping out to an early 4-0 lead in the first period and chasing the Citadelles goalie from the game, but Quebec City came out flying in the last two periods, gradually clawing their way back to eventually tie the game at 4-4 to take the game to overtime. Three-on-three hockey was madness to watch from the stands, but it suited Caitlin's skill set perfectly, and the crowd went wild when the home team scored the overtime winner on a play that my sister had started with her skating ability.
A few days later, the roles were reversed and Caitlin was in Montreal to watch us take on Montreal United in our match. Unfortunately, our game didn't have the same celebration as we lost in a close game 4-3 where I didn't play particularly well, but I was still thrilled that we'd been able to experience each other's worlds for a little while as Rova headed back home to prepare for our next match against North Shore United.
---
The halfway point of the season was an away match against Inter London. I loved playing matches in Europe where my family could watch on television at a relatively normal time for them, and it was the closest thing to a home match for me until I made it up to the top level of the SSL. Inter London were struggling this year, still winless through ten matches, while we were in the middle of the table, but the tactics we'd been practicing for this match had us feeling optimistic.
The match didn't get off to a great start, and through the first third of the match London were up 2-0 on goals from Ozzy Trent Kovacs and Bob Kronkowski. We kept pushing, though, and Alex Stain got us on the board in the 40th minute with a nice shot. Right away, we were back on the attack when Alex Stain intercepted a clearing pass. He fed the ball to me on a short pass and I rushed up the left side toward the goal. I was cut off by defenders behind me and to my right and the goalkeeper playing the shot, so I had to think of something quickly. Just as I was about to run out of room, a lane to my teammate Tlacaelel Tepoztli opened up for a split-second, and without thinking I took the pass. Somehow, it got past both the defender and the goalie straight to Tepoztli, who tapped in the easiest goal of his life to even the score at 2-2, which stood until the half.
In the 57th minute, now up 3-2, Berit Skovgaard started a counterattack from our own end and the ball ended up with Heung-Man Smalls, who got the ball to me on the left side. Tank Denstro was breaking free and I fed him the ball just as he was about to go offside, teeing it up for him to one-time past the goalie to double our lead. I hadn't managed to put one in the net myself despite several chances this match, but I had managed to set up two goals to help us come back from being down two goals to being up by two.
The score stayed the same until the 82nd minute, when we got a throw-in. With a safe lead, Harvey Danger saw an opportunity and rather than put the ball in play with a short pass, threw it as hard as he could upfield to Tank Denstro on the right side. I was wide open racing down the middle of the field, and the only question left was whether he could get the ball to me. Denstro launched a cross towards the middle of the field, barely managing to keep me onside. The ball flew over the head of all three defenders straight towards me, and before it even arrived my foot was already pulled back all the way for the shot from point-blank range. The goalie never had a chance of stopping it, and the game was pretty much over from there.
I definitely put a little extra on the shot with how many missed chances I'd had this game, but when the final whistle blew I'd scored a goal, added two assists, and gotten the Player of the Match award for my performance. With Caitlin in the defensive scoring race for the Citadelles and my having two goals and two assists in my last three games, things were definitely on the upswing for the Hughes-Galloway sisters on our respective professional sports journeys.
When the match started, the more experienced AS Paris side controlled the pace of play, drawing first blood when Eric Belmont found the back of the net on a shot off a set piece in the 20th minute. Belmont soon doubled the lead in the 29th minute with a quick shot off a crossing pass, and Eden Empire IV made the score 3-0 for AS Paris scoring just before halftime.
With the score out of reach, the second half generally became about building chemistry with each other for our side. I managed to get a couple good chances, with one shot on goal that was parried away by the goalkeeper, but the score ended in a 4-1 defeat with Tank Denstro breaking the shutout late in injury time on a penalty kick. Even in the loss, I was pretty happy with how I'd played for my first game out of the Academy, having shown some of what I could do. Having the security of a two-year contract helped me feel secure, but I had never been one to shy away from trying bold plays even if they sometimes didn't work. This was something that set me apart from my older sister Caitlin; while her game as a hockey defender was all about using her vision and skating to make the smartest analytical plays in every situation, my game was built on creativity, speed, and power.
---
A few weeks later, we were back at home after matches in Budapest and Cairo to face off against F.C. Kaapstad. In the typical growing pains for an expansion team, we were down 4-0 in the second half and firmly in garbage time. In the 80th minute, a corner kick got batted around and ended up getting passed to me. It wasn't the ideal angle as the shot would be coming off my left foot, but I wound up and kicked it as hard as I could anyway. The shot arced beautifully off my foot and past the goalie's outstretched arms for my first-ever goal in the SSL proper. The match ended in another 4-1 loss to drop out record to 1-3 on the season, but I was still optimistic. I'd taken the chances that had come to me, even if they weren't perfect, and one had ended up in the back of the net for my first goal ever.
---
Our seventh match of the season saw us travel to Montreal, and this was a trip that I'd been looking forward to since the moment the schedule was announced. Not only for the game itself, but because I'd get to see Caitlin in person for the first time in months. I'd see the old town of Quebec City that Cait was always telling me about, see one of her hockey games in person, and she'd get to see my match.
On a day where Rova didn't have training, I took the first train of the day from Montreal up to Quebec City, smiling widely when I came out of the train station and saw my sister's face. "Orla!" she called out, smiling just as big.
"Cait!" I replied. "It's so good to see you," I said happily, pulling my older sister into a hug.
It was snowing in Quebec City as we ventured out into the old town, but being a worldwide league with games in all sorts of climates, the SSL had ways to deal with the winter climates and we usually didn't have to actually play in snow. I marveled at the site of the walls around Old Quebec and the Citadelle for which Caitlin's hockey team got their name. Even though Dublin was a very historic city on its own, and I got to see all sorts of amazing places while travelling with Rova, getting to see Quebec City with my favourite person in the world was a special experience.
"I can't believe you get to go past this every day on your way to the arena," I smiled, looking around in awe.
I'd never seen a professional hockey game live before, but that night was a first for me, and I got to see it from the lower bowl close to ice level - the perks of being a professional athlete with money. It didn't get off to a great start, with the visiting Thunder Bay Walleye jumping out to an early 4-0 lead in the first period and chasing the Citadelles goalie from the game, but Quebec City came out flying in the last two periods, gradually clawing their way back to eventually tie the game at 4-4 to take the game to overtime. Three-on-three hockey was madness to watch from the stands, but it suited Caitlin's skill set perfectly, and the crowd went wild when the home team scored the overtime winner on a play that my sister had started with her skating ability.
A few days later, the roles were reversed and Caitlin was in Montreal to watch us take on Montreal United in our match. Unfortunately, our game didn't have the same celebration as we lost in a close game 4-3 where I didn't play particularly well, but I was still thrilled that we'd been able to experience each other's worlds for a little while as Rova headed back home to prepare for our next match against North Shore United.
---
The halfway point of the season was an away match against Inter London. I loved playing matches in Europe where my family could watch on television at a relatively normal time for them, and it was the closest thing to a home match for me until I made it up to the top level of the SSL. Inter London were struggling this year, still winless through ten matches, while we were in the middle of the table, but the tactics we'd been practicing for this match had us feeling optimistic.
The match didn't get off to a great start, and through the first third of the match London were up 2-0 on goals from Ozzy Trent Kovacs and Bob Kronkowski. We kept pushing, though, and Alex Stain got us on the board in the 40th minute with a nice shot. Right away, we were back on the attack when Alex Stain intercepted a clearing pass. He fed the ball to me on a short pass and I rushed up the left side toward the goal. I was cut off by defenders behind me and to my right and the goalkeeper playing the shot, so I had to think of something quickly. Just as I was about to run out of room, a lane to my teammate Tlacaelel Tepoztli opened up for a split-second, and without thinking I took the pass. Somehow, it got past both the defender and the goalie straight to Tepoztli, who tapped in the easiest goal of his life to even the score at 2-2, which stood until the half.
In the 57th minute, now up 3-2, Berit Skovgaard started a counterattack from our own end and the ball ended up with Heung-Man Smalls, who got the ball to me on the left side. Tank Denstro was breaking free and I fed him the ball just as he was about to go offside, teeing it up for him to one-time past the goalie to double our lead. I hadn't managed to put one in the net myself despite several chances this match, but I had managed to set up two goals to help us come back from being down two goals to being up by two.
The score stayed the same until the 82nd minute, when we got a throw-in. With a safe lead, Harvey Danger saw an opportunity and rather than put the ball in play with a short pass, threw it as hard as he could upfield to Tank Denstro on the right side. I was wide open racing down the middle of the field, and the only question left was whether he could get the ball to me. Denstro launched a cross towards the middle of the field, barely managing to keep me onside. The ball flew over the head of all three defenders straight towards me, and before it even arrived my foot was already pulled back all the way for the shot from point-blank range. The goalie never had a chance of stopping it, and the game was pretty much over from there.
I definitely put a little extra on the shot with how many missed chances I'd had this game, but when the final whistle blew I'd scored a goal, added two assists, and gotten the Player of the Match award for my performance. With Caitlin in the defensive scoring race for the Citadelles and my having two goals and two assists in my last three games, things were definitely on the upswing for the Hughes-Galloway sisters on our respective professional sports journeys.
<center><img src='https://i.imgur.com/X6cSRMC.jpeg' border='0' alt='user posted image' /></center><br><center>Sig by Pandar</center>
![[Image: gmSTbwI.png]](https://i.imgur.com/gmSTbwI.png)
