MSUB SPORTS – Looking back, it always seems to go by faster than you think.
 
"It's hard to describe in words something that has been such a big part of your life for four years," Montana State University Billings senior goalkeeper Lili Delgadillo commented.
 
She paused pensively before continuing to reflect on her four-year career with the Yellowjacket women's soccer team.
 
"It would be like trying to describe why you love your mom or dad or siblings," she said. "It's just something that has become part of you."
 
Soccer is family in every sense of the word for Delgadillo, who is a third generation goalkeeper. Her grandfather Salvador competed in leagues in Guadalajara, Mexico, while her father Esteban competed in college at the University of Portland and trained alongside famed United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller. "It is definitely a family sport. I am pretty sure I started playing straight out of the womb," Delgadillo said.
 
Her older sister Ana graduated from fellow Great Northwest Athletic Conference school Concordia University last spring, with the two getting to go toe-to-toe competing against each other for three seasons at the collegiate level. Her brother Javier (14) competes with Project Unify and her two younger sisters, Julia (12) and Maya (9) are each developing their skills through the same club team Delgadillo played in at the Washington Timbers FC.
 
The whole family will be at Yellowjacket Field this weekend, to watch Lili compete for a final time. The Yellowjackets (4-10-1, 1-9 GNAC) host Simon Fraser University on Thursday before closing the season against No. 15 Western Washington University on Saturday. The final match will be preceded by the Yellowjackets' Senior Day ceremony, with Delgadillo and fellow fourth-year senior Jordan Devoto being recognized for their contributions to the program.
 
Delgadillo recalls her second trip to Billings, in the fall of 2014, when she witnessed that season's Senior Day. "I knew I liked the school on my first visit, but when I came again to watch them play on Senior Day that's when I knew this was the place that I wanted to be."
 
The next thing she knew, she and Devoto were paired to live together in the residence halls on MSUB's campus in the start of a tremendous friendship. "It was really nice to have that connection with Jordan to start off with, and she was always so positive and happy," Delgadillo said. "We have been very close, and I have looked up to her because she has been such a positive influence."
 
Those closest to her are quick to value all she has contributed as Delgadillo prepares for the final 180 minutes of soccer of her career. "Lili is truly a unique individual who has added a tremendous amount of joy to the program over her four years here," said MSUB head coach Stephen Cavallo. "She is someone who wakes up and sees the good in each day. You always know what you're going to get from Lili, and she always comes ready to work hard and improve. She made a strong impact on our program and she leaves a legacy behind of staying true to the program's core values of trust, commitment, and care."
 
SIBLING RIVALRY
"She didn't like it when I told her what to do. I had a good time when I got to play with her, because I knew what to expect." – Lili Delgadillo on playing with her sister Ana during their youth club years.
 
Delgadillo grew up in Vancouver, Washington, where she competed in a variety of sports including basketball, track and field, and volleyball. Naturally, soccer always took the lead role and as she became more interested in the sport she gravitated towards the goalkeeper position. "I knew that my dad had played (goalkeeper), and he encouraged me to do it," Delgadillo said. "He was a big inspiration for me to become a goalkeeper and to stay one, and he taught me a lot of the basics and what I know today."
 
One of Delgadillo's fondest soccer memories comes from her U17 season with the Washington Timbers FC, when she helped lead the club to a national championship.
 
Esteban's eldest daughters were pitted against one another more often than they played alongside each other in their careers, save for a handful of matches while attending Columbia River High School. "We only played with each other a bit, but sometimes we would go out into the yard and play one-on-one or she would shoot against me," Delgadillo said. "We always turned everything into a competition."
 
Though she played as a center back, Ana once pushed forward and even took a shot against her sister. It was Esteban's doing, as he coached Ana's club team at the time and altered the formation to create the matchup. "I remember it was a pretty soft shot, and I caught it and yelled out to her, 'nice try Ana!'" said Delgadillo.
 
The friendly yet spirited competition carried over to the collegiate level, where Ana's Cavaliers and Lili's Yellowjackets squared off in scrappy, hard fought matches. The first time they played against each other directly was on September 24, 2016 on a windy afternoon in Billings. Both sisters played a full 110 minutes in what wound up as a scoreless stalemate, with Lili making six saves and Ana helping limit the 'Jackets to just five shots in the game. "It just made it that much more intense playing against your sister, and you felt like you had to do well," Delgadillo said.
 
No matter who had bragging rights in a given year – Lili reminds her sister of her GPA standing 0.01 higher when they were both named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team in 2016, while Ana scored her first career goal and one of just two total against the 'Jackets last year in Billings – the two influenced one another's careers significantly.
 
 
"I originally didn't think I wanted to commit to playing college soccer, but when Ana committed to Concordia I realized I didn't want to be done yet," Delgadillo said. "I saw how much she was playing and loving it, and it got me excited to play in college."
 
THROUGH TRIAL AND TRIBULATION
"It has been an absolute pleasure to coach Lili these past two years. She has always brought a positive attitude and mindset to whatever she is doing, and she is extremely passionate about the game and her self-development. Through her hard work ethic and effort to understand the 'why' behind things, she has inspired her teammates to give their best as well." – MSUB assistant coach Sarah Leiby on Lili Delgadillo.
 
Entering the program as a freshman, Delgadillo earned a shutout in her very first outing with a 0-0 double-overtime draw at the University of Mary on September 5, 2015. While it was a good start, it was the first of just two games she saw time in during her debut season. Delgadillo patiently bided her time and worked diligently over the summer, and by the fall of 2016 she had played her way into the starting role for the 'Jackets.
 
Her 84 saves that season were the seventh-most in MSUB single-season history, as she started all 17 matches in a year that yielded some of her fondest soccer memories.
 
Leading Northwest Nazarene 2-1 in a road match on September 29, 2016, Delgadillo came to the rescue with a kick save in the 90th minute to help the win hold up for her team. The following week, on October 8, came one of her team's most memorable wins with a 2-1 overtime result at Simon Fraser University. Facing a constant barrage of 25 shots, Delgadillo had a career-high nine saves despite wet, slippery conditions on the turf at Terry Fox Field. "I just remember sprinting as quickly as I could to get up to the celebration when we won that game," Delgadillo remembered. "We had lost to them the year before, so to win on that field in the pouring rain made it that much sweeter and better."
 
Though she has earned playing time in each of the last two seasons, the on-field time hasn't been there since Delgadillo's second season. Playing six games last year and five this season has done little to deter her spirits however, as Delgadillo's coaches cite her overwhelmingly positive attitude and support of fellow goalkeepers Erinn Harder and Abby Hamilton as her greatest asset to the team.
 
"Lili has had one of the most consistent attitudes over her four years here, even when it was not easy," Cavallo said. "I am most impressed with Lili's ability to handle adversity. There has been a lot of change here in her four years, but I am so proud of her for sticking with it. She has improved a lot as a keeper, and has contributed so much both on and off the field to her team and the program."
 
Delgadillo's name is already etched into MSUB's record books, as she is currently fifth in school history with 136 saves in her four seasons. She has tabulated three career shutouts, including one this fall against Wayne State College, and holds a 1.64 goals-against average.
 

Rank	Name	Saves	Games	Seasons
1	Megan Plank	336	71	2003-06
2	Jordan Fenwick	232	57	2007-10
3	Gretchen Kaus	211	35	1999-2000
4	Jenny Bunnell	161	30	1998-99
5	Lili Delgadillo	136	30	2015-18
6	Erinn Harder	106	24	2017-18
7	Aiko Johnson	66	20	2012
8	Danielle Gordon	61	19	2010-11
9	Cori Russell	60	9	2002
10	Krystal Daniels	56	23	2013-14

 
"During Lili's career at MSUB, she has been resilient in the face of adversity," commented MSUB assistant coach Sarah Leiby, a former goalkeeper at the University of Vermont who is responsible for training MSUB's goalkeeper corps. "It is easy for players to give up or slack off when things get hard, but that has never been the case for Lili. When challenges arose, she worked even harder to overcome them and had the attitude that the team needed the best from her. Because Lili continued to grow, she raised the level of our team and I am extremely proud to see that growth."
 
A TRUE KEEPER
"I am so grateful for the past four years. I may not have liked everything that happened, but I love my teammates and the coaching staff. I am definitely going to look back on these four years and be eternally grateful to have had this experience." – MSUB women's soccer senior Lili Delgadillo.
 
Delgadillo will complete her degree in MSUB's health and human performance program in the spring of 2019, and she earned academic all-GNAC this fall for the third straight season. She carries a 3.94 grade point average, as her performance in the classroom has always been paramount. "I have loved all the professors I have had, especially in the HHP department," said Delgadillo. "Dr. Alex Shafer is helping me with my thesis right now, and he has been great in helping me find out an area to focus on. Suzette Nynas is my adviser and has been awesome helping me look at different graduate schools. Jeff Willardson has been great both as a professor and as our strength coach. He is a great teacher and it has been cool having him show us how we take concepts that we learn in a class like kinesiology and apply them to the workouts we are doing."
 
Beyond the classroom and field, Delgadillo has always striven to maximize her experience at MSUB and have her hand in a variety of groups on campus. She is a three-year participant in MSUB's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, serving on the board of student leaders that seeks to enhance the overall environment for student-athletes.
 
Through her role on the MSUB Student Activities Board, Delgadillo has played a part in bringing entertainment and events to campus. She will travel to the annual National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) conference for the second straight year later this fall, in what has become a major opportunity to develop her leadership skills and network with peers at universities throughout the western states.
 
On top of all that, she is also a member of the MSUB honors program, which Delgadillo credits as giving her a more well-rounded student experience overall. "I was always involved in a lot of activities in high school, and when I got to college I wanted to fill my free time with something," Delgadillo said.
 
"It has been amazing to watch Lili grow as a true student leader not just on the soccer field," said Cavallo. "She has given so much of her time trying to improve the environment for the general student body here at MSUB, and she really represents our program in the highest regard by giving back to the university itself. It is really impressive to see Lili excel in the classroom when she gives so much of her time to being a competitive student-athlete and being a student leader. It really speaks volumes to Lili's time management skills, work ethic, and desire to make an impact on the university."
 
"Sometimes it feels like it has been four days, and other times 10 years," Delgadillo said. "My teammates, coaches, and family have really helped me grow as a person over the past four years, and get through the hard times and the good times."
 
As Delgadillo walks towards midfield flanked by those closest to her on Saturday, all those in attendance will recognize her as more than just a soccer player. Her fellow 'Jackets will see the consummate teammate, who has always been there with a smile and a thumbs up. Her classmates will see a model citizen who recognizes the importance of impacting all those around her. And her family will proudly escort the latest goalkeeper among a long lasting legacy.