Laura Harvey Embraces AI for Tactical Innovation with Seattle Reign FC
By Jeff Kassouf | October 31, 2025, 11:38 AM ET
Seattle Reign FC’s head coach Laura Harvey has revealed that she utilized ChatGPT to gain tactical insights during the recent offseason. This exploration into AI-assisted strategies led to the implementation of a new formation featuring five defenders.
A prominent figure in women’s soccer, Harvey has won the NWSL Shield three times and has been named NWSL Coach of the Year on three occasions. In a conversation on the “Soccerish Podcast,” she shared that she had never employed a back-five formation prior to this season and hadn’t extensively researched it.
Initially sceptical about the AI’s take on her team’s style, Harvey delved deeper with broader inquiries about tactics in the NWSL. One question specifically asked, “What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?” prompted fascinating insights.
“It listed every team in the league along with the recommended formation to counter them,” Harvey recounted on the podcast, published on Thursday. “For two teams—I’m not disclosing their identities—it suggested I should play a back five. So I decided to try it out.” She stated this conversation occurred early in the season when she remarked to her coaching staff, “I’m not joking, this is what I did,” to which they responded with curiosity.
Inspired by the AI’s suggestion, Harvey and her team thoroughly researched the back-five formation, evaluating its compatibility with their playing style.
“We found it appealing, and it proved effective—we won the match,” she said.
When pressed about which team they tested the new formation against, Harvey withheld specifics but clarified it was not the Portland Thorns, stating it was against a “really good” opponent.
Throughout the current season, Seattle has frequently deployed variations of the 3-5-2 or 5-3-2 formations, with their tactics shifting considerably. According to TruMedia, the Reign first adopted the 3-5-2 setup shortly after four matches into the season, following a narrow 1-0 loss to the Orlando Pride.
Just three weeks later, Seattle achieved a 1-0 victory over the league-leading Kansas City Current while utilizing the 3-5-2 formation.
“The AI didn’t provide detailed playing instructions, but it suggested a framework, which piqued my interest,” Harvey reflected. “That spurred me to investigate the formation further, leading to our current strategy.”
As the NWSL season approaches its conclusion, Seattle finds itself in fourth place, having secured a playoff position ahead of the final round of regular-season games on Sunday. In stark contrast, the Reign finished 13th out of 14 teams last year.
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