All the way from Kent, Wash.,
comes a soccer player with so many
awards and individual records she
is virtually impossible to miss.

Not to mention, she’s 6-foot-1.

Nicole Williams, freshman
starting goalkeeper for the
Bulldogs, broke Kent-Meridan
High School’s records for most
saves (110), and most shutouts (10)
during her senior year.She was
voted the most athletic in her class,
won the Outstanding Freshman,
Sophomore and Senior Awards,
and played for a state champ club
team and the Olympic
Development Program team
throughout her high school career.

This year, Williams has lived up
to her flawless reputation record-
ing 14 saves in her eight starts for
the Bulldogs.

Williams was discovered
because she played for team mem-
ber Jen Lewis’ father in Seattle.

Head coach Bill Barker recruited
her on recommendation from both
Jen Lewis and her father.

"He (Barker) hadn’t even really
seen her play in a tough game or a
tough situation," Lewis said. "He
kind of had to take our word for it."

Barker was only able to see
Williams perform in three tourna-
ments, two of which were against
weak opponents that left little
action in the backfield. In the other
tournament, Williams dove into a
goal post on a save and injured her
shoulder but continued to play.

Despite the injury, Barker offered
her a scholarship.

"I’ve had the benefit of being
around three national team goal-
keepers, Barker said.

"I’ve been around good players.

I know what to look for, and you go
with hunches. You get a good feel-
ing about somebody, and you go
with it."

A goalie with an impressive his-
tory doesn’t easily slide by the
spring recruiting frenzy. Williams
was no exception to this rule and
agreed to four recruiting trips to
the University of Utah, Arizona,
Georgia and Rutgers.

She never made it to Rutgers,
though, having already decided on
Georgia at the time of the trip, an
act she says can be attributed to
Barker.

"At Rutgers, the coach wasn’t
really into his players," Williams
said. "Barker can be your coach
and he’s someone you can talk to,
too. And you can joke around with
him. That’s what I was looking for
in a coach."

Williams said she made the
right choice in picking Georgia.

"This team can go really far,"
Williams said. "When we play
together we are awesome."

Williams shares goals of win-
ning the Southeastern Conference
and earning a bid to the NCAA
Tournament with the rest of her
team, but she also has separate,
defensive goals for herself.

"I want SECs, I want NCAAs,
but we (keeper Meredith McIntire
and Williams) also want 10
shutouts."

The keepers have only reached
one-fifth of their shutout goal with
one against Florida International
on Sept. 1 and the other against
Florida Atlantic six days later.

Georgia’s chance for a third
shutout came Friday against
Stetson but was dashed when the
Hatters scored with 10 minutes
left to close the game out 8-1.

"I guess it just makes us work
harder," Williams said.

Williams is working hard. After
playing she is bogged down with
ice packs strapped to her left
shoulder (the same one she injured
during one of Barker’s recruiting
trips), her right knee, and her right
ankle.

She still struggles with injured
nerves in her shoulder but she said
the other ice packs are just preven-
tative measures.

Williams and the Bulldogs (8-1,
1-1 SEC) return to their home field
Oct. 3 against Davidson, after trav-
eling to Vanderbilt and Kentucky
for two conference games this
weekend.