MSUB SPORTS – In a matter of seconds a harmless throw-in turned into a goal.
 
As Montana State University Billings women's soccer junior Erin Reynolds released a two-handed toss and Cassidy O'Dell turned against her defender with the ball, senior forward Jordan Devoto inched closer to the goal box from her unassuming position on the far side of the field.
 
What happened next was a combination of individual skill and pure instinct.
 
As a shot attempt turned into a high, wide ball that was headed towards the far post, the Seattle Pacific University defender held her ground ready to make a clearance out of danger. But her opportunity never arrived, because Devoto did first.
 
"I am not a composed player," Devoto said with a laugh. "Yet, I hope to bring a little higher degree of that in my senior season than I have in previous years." 

Cutting inside of her defender to simply reach the ball was one thing, but the hardest part of the play was bringing the ball down smoothly to give herself a chance at a shot. With an expert soft touch, Devoto did just that before punching a low shot past the goalkeeper and into the corner of the net. "It was a moment that showcased a lot of skill and composure," said MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo. "Since coming in as a freshman, Jordan has spent a lot of time working on the technical aspect of the game. You can see those countless hours come out when she controlled that ball at full speed out of the air like that."


 
"The GNAC is so tight that you have to have a perfect first touch without thinking about it," Devoto said. "Looking back at that goal, it helped me realize the amount of work I had to put in to make that touch."
 
In many ways the level of skill Devoto showed on the play is a tribute to the incalculable hours she dedicated over the last four seasons to maximizing her ability.
 
Beloved by her teammates, evidenced by being voted team captain in each of the last two years, it has never been a question of Devoto's attitude or work ethic. After playing a total of 15 minutes in three games as a true freshman in 2015, she could have easily thrown in the towel and given up. If you ask Devoto however, resigning from the sport that has been part of her life since she could walk was never a legitimate option.
 
"On Senior Day of my freshman year I remember seeing all the seniors who had put in so much effort and work for the program, and I realized that didn't come just because they wanted it badly," Devoto reflected on what was admittedly a frustrating debut collegiate season. The Yellowjackets defeated Central Washington 1-0 on Halloween, 2015 to clinch a spot in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships. "I knew (those seniors) had put in all the work behind that desire to make the playoffs. In that game specifically, I decided that there was no way I wasn't coming out the next year with the fire to compete and be a contender to be in a starting spot."
 
On September 29, 2016, Devoto came off the bench and scored her team's first goal in a 2-1 victory at Northwest Nazarene University. Thirty-nine games later, it still stands as the last time she did not start a match. With four games left in her career starting Thursday at Central Washington (3 p.m. Pacific/4 p.m. Mountain), and her own Senior Day impending on October 27, it's hard to fully grasp just how far Devoto has come.
 
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The last published population for the town of Wilsall, Montana, came during the 2000 census when it checked in with 237 inhabitants. It was in the scenic landscape of the town located just northeast of Bozeman that Devoto first began kicking around a soccer ball around the age of five. Located just 29 miles from Livingston, Devoto had options to start expanding her game as she grew older. "My parents wanted me to be involved in sports, and soccer was the only option so I started playing and loved it," Devoto remembered. "I moved up to playing club soccer at age 12 and played for the Livingston Raiders. I mainly played center midfield and right back, and occasionally in club they would put me at forward to try to score."
 
By the age of 14 Devoto made it to her first state tournament and placed second with her team, sparking the idea that she wanted to continue the sport as long as she could. Her mother Carolyn and a handful of her cousins had played basketball in college, and though she was aware of MSUB it wasn't until she attended a camp in Billings in her junior season of high school that it became a realistic destination.

"The camp really opened my eyes to what MSUB had to offer, and I knew that the team would be a really good fit for me with how competitive it was," Devoto said. "I knew instantly that I wanted to play here."
 
Coming from a unique educational background, Devoto attended home schooling through her prep years but was able to compete on the Park High School girls soccer team as a part-time student. She also competed on a variety of club soccer teams including Big Timber FC, which provided her the platform to play in tournaments in Billings to further bolster her collegiate prospects.
 
MOVING FORWARD
"I wish I could tell you that I always had a good attitude, but at times I really struggled. With my inner competitiveness it killed me to not be on the field, especially when I thought I could make a difference." – Jordan Devoto on her freshman season at MSUB.
 
Whether it was the pure speed of the game or the demand for excellence at every given moment, Devoto was admittedly in over her head upon being introduced to the collegiate game. "In high school you could get away with things because you worked hard, but as soon as you came to college you had to be incredibly precise," Devoto said.
 
Used to being moved around the pitch and filling whatever position her club team may have needed on a given day was a foreign concept as well, as Devoto was moved to a full-time forward for the first time in her career. Quickly realizing that she wasn't going to be able to come in and hang with some of the seasoned veterans from top club teams in the west region of the United States, Devoto did the only thing she could in putting her head down and getting to work. "There is no shortcut to Jordan's success," Cavallo said. "She simply worked her socks off to get to the spot she is at, and I am very proud of her for that. Many players now  unfortunately quit teams when they do not play as much as they think they should their freshman season. Jordan is an amazing example of what could potentially be waiting for you on the other side if you push through the various struggles of a freshman season with a positive attitude and an amazing work rate."
 
While the results didn't show in the form of playing time, Devoto had to trust in the process and carry confidence in her ability to up her level of play. She relied dually on the presence of experienced seniors like Elizabeth Howard, and local talents like then-sophomore Jessica Spang to draw inspiration from. "Izzi did not let me slide at all, and she was also my biggest supporter," Devoto said. "She encouraged me every day through practice, and was probably the biggest reason I continued to have a growth mindset. With Jessica being from (Billings), it really encouraged me that this was a tough level but I could hang with these girls."
 
The football field close to Devoto's home in Wilsall became her primary destination during the summer of 2016, and every excruciating hill sprint was fueled by the determination to prove she could be a difference maker with the 'Jackets.
 
Sure enough, Devoto earned a starting spot in Game 1 of the 2016 season, and saw her overall minute total increase exponentially to the mark of 901 as she played in all 17 games. Her first career assist came on September 10, 2016, as she helped Spang score an important second goal in a 2-2 draw against the University of Mary. 
 
Twelve days later came an unforgettable moment, when Devoto's unrelenting dedication towards improving as a player paid off in the tangible form of a goal. Crashing the back post on a cross by Alexa Iacolucci after a long run down the left side of the field, Devoto got her foot on the ball and tucked it neatly into the back of the net for her first college finish.


 
Devoto went on to score twice more that season, and overall she has found the net six times in her 50 career games play. Add in her two assists, and she has totaled 14 points. She surpassed the 1,000-minute mark with 1,120 played while starting every game as a junior in 2017, and is on pace to reach her highest total yet with 885 minutes and counting through the first 13 starts of her senior campaign.
 
"I haven't ever considered goals as something that helped me earn a starting spot," Devoto said. "I became a more consistent player, and becoming more dependable on the field is something I have worked on a lot in practice. I might not typically be the person who scores all the goals, but I am going to be the person who works hard to get my teammates the ball."
 
"When I think about Jordan, I think about presence and essence," said Cavallo. "She cares so much about her teammates and the program, and although she always leads by example in terms of work ethic in practice, this is just a small part of what makes Jordan a leader. Her reliability, dependability, and ability to think and serve others will be most difficult to replace. People like Jordan don't come into your life very often, let alone your soccer program. She would do anything for the person next to her, and do it with a smile on her face."

Now as a senior captain on the squad, Devoto sees herself fill the shoes of the mentors she looked up to as a young player. "It is fun to look back and think of myself as a freshman, and it seems like yesterday," Devoto said. "I have tried to come across as someone who is really approachable, but at the same time I am not going to be a lax leader. I know how hard freshman year can be, but this year's group has made my job pretty easy."
 
COMPREHENSIVE LEADER
"It's hard to measure in words exactly what Jordan means to the program. She is simply someone who knows and appreciates the value of life and all of its blessings. If everyone had the same attitude as Jordan Devoto, we would be the happiest and hardest working team in the country. She has really overcome a lot in her time here at MSUB, but has always put the program and others first." – Stephen Cavallo on senior forward Jordan Devoto.

Devoto's presence as a leadership figure has extended well beyond the field, as she is on pace to earn academic all-GNAC honors for the third straight season. She carries a 3.97 grade point average while completing her degree in health and wellness, and has plans to pursue an internship next summer after graduating. "Dr. (Alex) Shafer has been my advisor, and he has helped me a lot not only with my schedule but also with narrowing down my options," Devoto commented on the guidance she has received through MSUB's health and human performance department. "Dr. (Carl) Castles was my anatomy and physiology professor, and he worked a lot with me being a student-athlete. He really wanted me to succeed, and I enjoyed learning from him because he knows so much."
 
Devoto's faith has guided her throughout her life and career at MSUB, and is something she cites as being paramount to her experience. "I want to thank Jesus because he has given me not only an opportunity to be healthy and have strong legs to continue playing this sport, but also the opportunity to play for such an amazing program," Devoto said. "The story of me getting here is a testament to the Lord having a hand in it. He knew MSUB was the perfect school for me."
 
The final two weeks of her collegiate career are fast approaching, but her model as a tireless worker has come to epitomize the MSUB women's soccer program's pillars of trust, commitment, and care.
 
"Soccer has been what got me here, yet the people are what has kept me here," Devoto said. "I have developed some of the most important friends in my life being in college, and a major part of that has been the close-knit and tight relationships MSUB has as a college."
 
It wasn't hard for Devoto to pick out a favorite collegiate moment as she carefully considered the last four years of her life. She landed on the mid-September afternoon and her first-ever goal, but less because of the score and more because of the meaning surrounding it. "My parents have been nothing but supportive of me from Day 1," Devoto commented. "They helped me keep a good attitude and motivated me to keep my head down and work hard. They taught me to be incredibly grateful when the time came, and that is one of the biggest things that helped me get better."
 
Even when they knew the prospect of their daughter seeing the field as a freshman was a near impossibility, the Devotos made the two-hour trip to Billings. They made it to every game of the 2015 season, and have been some of the most frequent attendees at home matches ever since.
 
Just as he had done so many times before, Andy Devoto maintained his position in the bleachers at Yellowjacket Field that September day in the fall of 2016 and watched as his daughter's 71st-minute shot found the net. The hardest part was waiting out the final 19 minutes of play, before he ran across the field and greeted his daughter with arms open and a slide. It was a celebration worthy of a world-class goal, and one that captured a lifetime of emotion.
 
"I never dreamt I could come and play and start and make a difference on a college team like this," Devoto said. "It was truly a dream as a girl in middle school and high school. I didn't know how to make that dream real, and MSUB gave me that opportunity. Wow, I've had fun."
 
Andy and Carolyn have been there from the first minute. They knew their daughter would realize her dream all along.