Hey, Nikki, you're so fine, playing soccer at a high line. Hey, Nikki, hey, Nikki.

It's only her freshman year, but former Mount Rainier high school soccer star, Nikki Murray, has done well enough to earn a starting spot in the center of the back four defense for the University of Washington Huskies women's soccer team.

That's the Division One women's soccer team. You know, the one that's one of the harder-to-get-in better schools around here that gives scholarships for being good so you don't have to pay for stuff much. Food, books, studies. Thousands of dollars down to a lot, lot less.

Plane trips to Ohio State and Hawaii already gone on by Murray, that's the goodness one gets when they, like Murray, have worked hard at something, like soccer, from the time he/she could spell rubber baby buggy bumpers, or, something like that.

"I started out playing on recreational teams (when she was five, six), then when I was 10,11 I signed up for the HSA Eagles select team. I've always played up a year, and, the last five or six years (before now full-time college soccer going on now) I played on the ODP (Olympic Development Program)," said Murray.

Murray has done what it takes, listened to her coaches like current Rams coach Jerry Capodano and others like the coach she stated gave her the best insight for how good she could be at this strategic team game.

"I've had a lot of great coaches," said Murray, who was asked who was the greatest.

"Scott Neuman, my ODP coach, taught me to be a leader. He really helped me switch from midfield to defender."

That becomes important in the story now. You know Murray was good at the Seamount League level. She led her team in goals, playing midfield and some at the forward position, too.

But to play at a D-1 level one needs to be able to be good at defender a lot of times because that is where the help is needed. That is where the help was needed at the U-Dub.

"We recruited her from watching her play defense on her club team," said Huskies womens head coach Lesle Gallimore, in her 13th season with the Dawgs, sporting an elite eight record of 2004 that had former Seattle Christian High School star, Melissa Bennett, on that team. The Dawgs also were Pac-10 champs back in 2000 and have been a force in play at the D-1 level. Last year, the Dawgs took it in the shorts, a three-win season, although Murray was not there.

Not saying she's the reason for a change, but already the Dawgs have a 5-5 record and Murray has done more than just been a middle defender kicking the ball out of danger against California and Oregon highly skilled players. Likely all-league selections, and in some cases even girls high school soccer player-of-the-year types. She's also, as said already, been to OSU and Hawaii for tournaments. In the Ohio State Tournament, Murray was selected to the all-tournament team. In the Hawaii tourney, all the Dawgs did in that one was win the thing.

Was Murray on the bench on the sidelines in that opening season tournament or just coming in, subbing?

"Nikki's been a starter in all 11 games," said Gallimore, which lets everyone know that the record of the Huskies is already two wins better than last season's final record when a 5-5-1 start is said.

What attracted Gallimore to recruit Murray?

"She is a very good soccer player, good at passing the long balls and short balls," said Gallimore, in her 13th season with the Huskies, who were in the elite eight in 2004 and won the Pac 10 championship in 2000. "She is physical, not a really big player; but she tackles tough, wins balls. She's good in the air."

Murray has that intangible trait too that makes a player a winner, win or lose.

"She is competitive, has that will to win," said Gallimore. "She has a ton of potential. She's been an Olympic development four-year starter."

Murray just wanted to come in and earn a spot on the team. Neuman's help converting her from midfield to defender helped, coaches like Capodanno surely played a part in her development, and teammates. Murray said she's already been out to watch her Rams team play a game this season.

She earned that spot, thinking of things important to think about coming into a new environment against other scholarship players fighting for positions to play on the field.

"Coming in, I thought I would work as hard as I could to prove to my coaches I could have a starting spot," said Murray.

"She's played well," said Gallimore. "It bodes well for her, getting this kind of experience as a freshman. "She is solid at center back."

Out of the whole team, there are only three players from this area and one is from Woodinville, a 4A soccer power, and one is from Issaquah, a 3A soccer power. One actually went to Penn and played and decided to come back home. That's the level of play that Murray's at, folks. Katie Hall, a sophomore who is next to Murray at center back, was a big star at Woodinville, and Cathy Roe is the transfer from Penn.

The biggest difference between high school and college soccer for Murray is a lot of things really -- a lot of good things.

"Soccer is played at a very high level, a lot more intensity, the talent level is a lot higher," she said.

What about the food level? What's on the assembly line? Pork chops with gravy, hamburgers moist with yummy grease, potato chips.

"Yeah, they have that stuff," said Murray. "But you know what you have to put in your body."

Murray's a svelte 5-6 and she can jump and get headers as coach said earlier, "She's good in the air."

So willpower is a lot more than just as her coach said Murray had inborn in her, that is, the 'will to win.'

What about a big juicy gelatinous piece of key lime pie, Nikki?

Well, that was an easy answer.

"I'm not a fan of pie," said Murray.

Pie in the sky, Nikki should say such stuff, true or not. Nikki is in the sky with diamonds.

Doing what you dreamed, what you love, makes the little stuff like maybe Nikki's favorite, ice cream, just melt away from her mind.

"You get used to what you need to eat," she said.

Get used to it, Nikki, you're living richly, attending a well-respected, great sports and academic school.

What would she tell all those young recreational leaguers who are dreaming big dreams now for their futures in soccer?

"I would definitely tell them to keep working hard for your dream, keep working on your dream," said Murray. "I always wanted to play college soccer and I am."

And there must be someone to thank not mentioned directly or indirectly yet. Ah yes, mom and dad.

"I thank my parents for all they have done for me taking me to practices, games, supporting me. They come to all my games. I come from a big family, two boys, two girls."

And a dog, Rover?

"Not Rover," she said, laughing, a little. "Jake, a yellow lab."

Probably hard to be away from all of them, your family.

"My family is very important to me," she said. She misses seeing them as much being a drive away at U-Dub and playing soccer all the time right now, a lot on the road, including a plane ride to Southern California to play national champion runner-up, UCLA and also powerhouse, USC. Already, in fact last Friday in Portland, they played national champ Portland, a team they lost to along with just about everyone else in 2005, but beat in 2004. But, missing family, friends, her dog, we already know what this saavy young lady would say next, don't we.

It's hard, but you get used to it.