Dustin Downey enters his seventh year as an assistant coach with the WKU Soccer program in 2018 after aiding the Lady Toppers to a 59-40-15 record in the past six seasons.
In his fifth year with the program in 2016, the Lady Toppers notched 12 wins and finished third in Conference USA, the program's highest finish since joining the lead. Under Downey's tutelage, WKU scored 31 goals, the most in a single season since 2012. Freshman Chandler Backes exploded for 10 goals, just the fifth player in program history to record double-digit goals in a single season. In total, five WKU players earned All-C-USA honors in 2016, while head coach Jason Neidell was named the Coach of the Year.
Downey's one-on-one technical work with the Lady Toppers helped them win the 2013 Sun Belt Conference regular season title with a mark of 10-6-5, including a 6-2 clip in league play. Downey tutored a program record seven All-Sun Belt Conference selections in 2013, which was the second most in a single season in league history. Downey also helped guide WKU to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title match for the third time in program history.
During his first year as an assistant in 2012, Downey aided the Lady Toppers to a 12-5-3 record and a fourth-place finish in the league standings. His work helped Ali Stahlke win 2012 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors and Chrissy Tchoula earn First-Team All-SBC distinction.
Downey has an extensive playing background and most recently played for the River City Rovers (Louisville, Kentucky) of the Premier Development League, a team that qualified for the U.S. Open Cup. His efforts with the team helped earn him a professional tryout in Bosnia in January 2012.
His prior coaching appointments included work with the Lexington Football Club (Lexington, Kentucky) and East Jessamine High (Nicholasville, Ky.). He was also a constant around Neidell's Hilltopper Soccer Academy at WKU before being hired as an assistant. Downey played three years for the WKU Men's Soccer program from 2005-2007, including earning honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference honors as a sophomore and preseason All-Conference honors as a junior. He scored six career goals while playing from the midfield. Following his three seasons with WKU, Downey played one year at Northern Kentucky University in 2008. The Norse finished 16-3-4 on the season and reached the NCAA Division II National Semifinals.
Downey enjoyed a successful prep career at Owen County High (Ky.) where he was a three time all-state selection. He notched 41 goals and 51 assists during his high school career, helping earn him NSCAA/adidas All-America honors in 2003. He was also a 2004 NSCAA/adidas High School Scholar All-American. He also had great success in the club ranks, playing for Javanon 86/87 in Louisville where he was a member of the 2006 national championship squad in the under-19 division. Downey graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2010 with a B.A. in broadcast communications and television production. He double minored in film study and english creative writing.
