Gillies, Sophie

Sophie, from Kings School in Taunton and was a part of the advanced development centre at Plymouth Argyle when she represented England Independent Schools in a superb 3-1 victory over their counterparts from Scotland, at the St George’s Park.

Sophie came off the the bench with England trailing 1-0. The home side drew level through an own goal and Sophie then took control, scoring twice with excellent finishes to secure a 3-1 triumph.

In 2018/19 Sophie played for Exeter and her first season was nothing short of spectacular, she was a huge part of the team’s success and, at only 16, she won the league golden boot, scoring 43 goals in 20 games. (The most goals scored by any Exeter player in a season, to this Sophie added 7 cup goals, making 50 goals in a season

" KING’S College pupil Sophie Gillies has won the Supporters’ Trust Women’s Young Player of the Year Award at the Exeter City FC Awards Night, after a hugely successful first full season with the Ladies’ First XI.

Exeter gained promotion into the National League and will now face teams such as QPR and Southampton"
(From the Somerset gazette).

In the curtailed 2019/20 season, she followed up the previous season's goal scoring frenzy with another 11 goals in 13 games.

Sophie moved to study in the USA at the University of California at Irvine, who said the following," Sophie will be the first English player to play for UCI.  She is a striker with a record of goal-scoring at every level most recently with Exeter City in the England FA Women's National League.  Her experience at this level will be valuable as she transitions to the US college game."

In 2021 Sophie was named to All-Big West Freshman Tea and earned Big West Freshman of the Week twice, making her collegiate debut in season opener at UCLA starting and playing 65 minutes, and collected her first career goal and point with an 89th-minute tally in a 3-1 loss.

In 2022, Sophie scored three goals including in consecutive matches at CSUN and USC and Earned Winter Dean's List status

After a successful 3 seasons in the USA, Sophie rejoined Exeter Women, helping the team to a cup and league double. Sophie scored a hat-rick on the first game of the 2024/25 season, in a 7-0 win against Milton Keynes, Exeter first game in the 3rd tier of the Women's pyramid.

Sophie was the voted as "players" Player of the season at the Awards evening in May 25. 


Playing Record

Kings Sch Taunton

2016/17

Plymouth Devt

2017/18

Exeter City

2018/19

20

43

Exeter City

2019/20

13

11

UC Irvine 

2020/21

19

 4

UC Irvine 

2021/22

19

 3

UC Irvine 

2022/23 

22

 0

Exeter City 

2023/24 

12

 4

Exeter City 

2024/25

28

23

In March 2025, Exeter City were delighted to announce that Sophie Gillies has become the first contracted women's player in the club's history!

"The striker, who leads the league's golden boot race with 17 goals so far this season, has been in electric form since City's promotion to the third tier"

All members of the Grecians' team were signed on as semi-professionals in the summer, however Sophie is the first player to be offered and commit to a fixed term contract. Sophie signed her contract at St James Park, joined by Abbie Britton and members of the Women's board. Thrilled with the news, Abbie Britton said: "We are delighted to have agreed a contract with Sophie, it demonstrates the intent of where we want to go as a football club and Sophie will be an important part of that progression. "Sophie has been outstanding on her return to Exeter City and has met the challenge of playing in tier three superbly, she has been a focal point of our attacking play alongside Sarah Stacey." "Sophie may be the first of our squad to be contracted, but she is on a list of many players that we want to keep at this football club and continue to help us grow." Executive Chair Jen Dixon said: "It's a crucial point in the development of Exeter City Women and an essential point in the club's investment in the women's game. "The signing of our first-ever fixed-term contracted player represents a vital step in providing the support, stability and professionalism to help continue our journey. "The results on the pitch this season have been fantastic and this news underlines our desure to compete at the highest level and inspire the next generation of female footballers in Exeter and beyond." 



Apperances and Goals 2025 onwards 

To the start of the 2025/26 season Sophie had scored 81 goals in 73 appearances in all competitions for Exeter City WFC 

Exeter City

2025/26

XX

 XX

Exeter City


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