The Matildas midfielder converted a key sudden death penalty in the Women's World Cup quarter-final against France in front of her home fans at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
The Matildas, who won 7-6 in the penalty shootout after neither side had scored by the end of extra time, were all wearing black armbands after the death of the father of Gorry's partner, Clara Markstedt.
"My fiancee's dad passed away a couple of nights ago. It has been a tough 48 hours for me but it was a nice night for me to be with him," she said.
"My head has been everywhere tonight but I know I have full support, not just here, but the family in Sweden too. Tonight, I just wanted to make him proud.
"Football is my happy place. Everything just leaves when you get on the field and when you have the girls backing you up every step of the way you have so much belief.
"Clara is over in Sweden. She went back when it all happened. I'm glad she is there with her family but definitely wish I could be there for her."
Gorry, who will turn 31 on Sunday, stepped up to land the first sudden-death penalty when failure would have resulted in the Matildas being knocked out.
"It was tough, but every moment we locked with teammates' eyes we had the belief that if it came to it we could go right to the end, to penalties, and win," Gorry said.
"It went for a lot longer than we expected. We put on a show. I am glad the Brissie crowd got behind us. We really needed them."
The fighting spirit of Gorry was crucial to the Matildas' win.
She was a major reason why France were not able to score in the first half after they had nine shots on goal.
Gorry was enormous in that period. Two through-balls for Hayley Raso and another to Mary Fowler gave the Matildas their best attacking chances in the first half.
It was Gorry's never-say-die mentality in winning possession at crucial moments that made the most difference.
She twice intercepted French passes and, as the smallest player on the field, had one classic confrontation with Les Bleues skipper Wendie Renard, the game's tallest.
Gorry was handed a yellow card for a fierce challenge on Sakina Karchaoui early in the first period of extra time. Les Bleues certainly knew she was out there.
Gorry made sure the Matildas stayed in it when the match could have got away from them, with one classic slide tackle on France midfielder Grace Geyoro showing she would not be intimidated.
Gorry's penalty, so calmly taken with immense pressure on her shoulders, iced her classy all-round display.
"I just wanted to keep calm, do what I practised and believe that I could take the shot and get the ball in the back of the net," Gorry said.
"I knew if I hit it with enough power it was going to go in. I am just glad it came off."
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