The 19-year-old trialled for the New Zealand under-20 team last month and was offered the opportunity to train with the Football Ferns wider training squad in Auckland.
''It is an amazing opportunity and I'm super-excited about it and hoping from there I'll be able to get in the under-20 squad for the World Cup next year,'' Nicol said.
She is likely to remain with the squad until November next year, so it is a big commitment. But she will have full access to the facilities and a high level of support.
Nicol, who has represented Football South since 2011, has played for the University Club for the past two years but previously played for Dunedin Technical and got her start as a 6-year-old in Mosgiel.
Her mother, Abby, was quite keen to see her daughter in a netball bib but Nicol liked the look of football.
''I started playing football on the field at school. I would sit and watch the older kids play and one day they invited me over to play and that was it.''
Goalkeeper is a tough position. There is only room for one keeper on the field at a time so opportunities can be scarce. She played for the New Zealand secondary schools team against Australia in 2013 and is hoping to add to that international experience.
''I've had some setbacks with that, especially when I wasn't sure if goalkeeper was the position I wanted to be in. I was up against another couple of girls who were really good at the time and obviously you had to work really, really hard to earn your place in the team.
''It is proving that even though you are from down South, and from a little town, that you are good enough to be in the team. It is basically about working hard enough to prove you are good enough to be where you are.''
