Kate Mooney's close season move has been a tonic as the nurse intern moves closer to her pro dream.
Mooney has got the flying start she wanted after joining Peamount United for DLR Waves, the striker's five goals in seven games helping the Peas to the league summit.
The 23-year-old has made an instant impact despite putting in 12-hour shifts four days a week in Beaumont Hospital, where she has been since December and will be until she qualifies in September. She trains with her new club three times a week.
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"I'm managing well so far, though it has been tough some weeks," said Mooney. "It's been tough on my legs which are heavy after the shifts so it's about resting when I can to be ready on game days.
"The college has been so good to me in terms of time off to train and play and I want to get my degree. I could suffer a serious injury tomorrow and you need something to fall back on.
"But equally, I definitely want to go pro soon. If the opportunity arises I would never say no. With the move to Peamount and where we are in the league, there are a lot more people watching.
"It's about putting consistent performances together now."
That is what Mooney has been doing since making the move to the Greenogue outfit.
She admits she was torn between staying with DLR or joining Peamount, but she already knew the Peas managerial pairing Vinnie Patterson and James O'Callaghan and they were persuasive. "Their passion for the club won me over," she explained.
If Mooney needed the move, so too did Peamount need top new talent.
On their arrival into the league, Saturday's opponents Shamrock Rovers signed Peamount's Aine O'Gorman, Stephanie Roche, Alannah McEvoy, Lauren Kelly and Aoibhe Fleming.
"Every club felt the impact of Rovers coming into the League," said Mooney. "But coming in here I felt a real family vibe, a club raring to go for the new season and with fire in the belly.
"That's what I wanted because I have my own goals to get to and really I couldn't be more delighted. I didn't expect to start this way, and I'm surprising myself every single day. All I do is work every day on the pitch and the goals are coming.
"But it's normal when you have players like Sadhbh Doyle, Erin McLaughlin and Karen Duggan creating chances that I'll have more opportunities to score."
Peamount recovered quickly from a 4-1 loss at defending champions Shelbourne and last week's comeback victory at Wexford signalled their intention to be the team the rest must reel in. Rovers are their nearest challengers, four points behind.
"What a brilliant goal from Karen to win it," said Mooney. "We lifted the tempo 100% after half-time. It's been tough so far and we've had to make improvements.
"Now we're excited to play Rovers. They're big on the men's side and the introduction of a women's team is great for the league because we're all hoping to grow it."
Mooney has never been in a home based Ireland squad but, having won underage caps, senior recognition is one of her targets. "Maybe it will happen for the next World Cup if I can keep scoring goals," she concluded.
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