She was part of the inaugural Women's World Cup winning team in 1991, the 1999 World Cup champions in the tournament that changed the visibility of the sport in the United States, and Olympic gold medal teams in 2004 and 2008. In the 1999 World Cup quarterfinal against China, with the match deep into stoppage time and the U.S. facing elimination, Lilly headed a corner kick off the goal line to keep the ball out and the Americans alive. The U.S. went on to win the tournament. It is one of the most replayed defensive plays in the history of American soccer, and it happened because she was in exactly the right position at exactly the moment everyone else's attention had shifted elsewhere.

She was rarely the most famous name on her own teams, playing alongside era-defining figures who drew more of the spotlight, and she built her career anyway on a foundation of consistency that outlasted every one of them. Twenty-three years, four World Cups, two Olympic golds, and a cap total no one else in the sport has approached. The record is not about a single tournament or a single goal. It is about showing up, at the highest level, for longer than anyone else ever has.