Dominic Gillespie was announced as the Missouri State men's soccer Goalkeeper Coach on August 23, 2023.
In his second season under head coach Michael Seabolt, Gillespie continued building his goalkeeper room as the Bears went 12-4-2 and won a Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. Missouri State earned a shutout in eight of the teams 18 matches (.444), tied for the 18th-best shutout percentage in Division I. The Bears allowed just 15 goals in 2024, tied for the ninth-fewest in DI and only three more than nation-leading Manmouth (12). After Harry Townsend started the first five matches at net, Will Lowry took the reins for the rest of the season. Lowry posted a .674 goal differential that was fifth in DI, allowing just nine goals in 14 matches across over 1,200 minutes played.
In his first season under Seabolt, Gillespie helped Missouri State to a 12-4-3 record and reach its fifth-straight NCAA Tournament and eighth all-time. He was instrumental in continuing the Bears' tradition of success at the goalkeeper position. Missouri State finished tied for sixth in Division I with 10 total shutouts. The Bears allowed just 14 goals in 2023, tied for eighth-fewest in the nation. MSU was also eighth in team goals against average in Gillespie's first season (.737).
Gillespie made his way to Springfield from West Virginia State University, a Division II school in the Mountain East Conference where he served as a women’s soccer assistant coach and head development team coach since 2021.
In his two years at WVSU, Gillespie helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a combined record of 28-10-3, including a 17-3-2 campaign in 2022 that saw WVSU national-ranked in DII for the first time in program history. The Yellow Jackets maintained their ranked status all the way to their first NCAA DII Tournament appearance in school history. WVSU parlayed its appearance into its first-ever tournament win in the first round over Bloomsburg.
West Virginia State limited opponents to 19 goals across 21 matches while the Yellow Jackets scored 57 in Gillespie’s final season in Institute, West Virginia.
Originally from Whitley Bay, England, Gillespie spent two years as the goalkeeper coach for Whitley Bay Football Club after his playing days in college.
Gillespie played in the college ranks at Salem University from 2014 to 2017 where he spent time as both a forward and a goalkeeper. He was a potent attacker in his early days at Salem. He scored two goals in his freshman season before moving between the posts later in the season. The following year was very similar with Gillespie scoring two goals on two shots in the season opener against Pikeville before moving to goalkeeper mid-season where he made 30 saves.
He became the starting goalkeeper for his junior and senior years as he made 48 and 26 saves each respective season.
Gillespie remained at Salem after his final playing season as an assistant for the 2018 season where his duties included working with goalkeepers and leading training sessions.
Updated: 1/23/2025
