Artificial intelligence has apparently found its way into the National Women’s Soccer League. Seattle Reign head coach Laura Harvey recently revealed that she used ChatGPT out of interest and to test its women’s soccer knowledge, while also using a prompt for tactical ideas on how to compete against other teams in the NWSL.
Speaking on the “Soccerish Podcast,” the most veteran coach in the league spoke about how she engaged with the technology over the course of the offseason, using different questions that ranged from a general standpoint to more specific formative prompts.
“One day in the offseason, I was writing things into ChatGPT like, ‘What is Seattle Reign’s identity?’ And it would spurt it out. And I was like ‘I don’t know if that’s true or not,'” she said. “And then I put in, ‘What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?’ And it spurted out every team in the league and what formation you should play. And for two teams, it went ‘You should play a back five.’ So I did. No joke, that’s why I did it.”
AI in soccer 101
The tactical conversation came about after Harvey was asked how she’s evolved on or off the pitch as a coach, and the Reign manager mentioned she’d never coached a back five until this year.
“I’d never really done a lot of research on it. I’d never really, like, invested into how it could be played in the women’s game. I’d only ever really seen it from afar, you know, watching men’s games really,” Harvey said on the podcast. “It was always sort of talked about as a way to see games out. You know, [you go ahead] and get into a back five and stop people from scoring, was sort of how, like, a back five had been talked about for me.”
She went on to explain that the unorthodox method came later, while using the AI technology, after delivering questionable information about the club itself. That’s Harvey then got more specific in the prompts.
So what were the games she referenced?
While Harvey didn’t give specific details about what the AI’s response gave, she did key in on the fact that a back-five formation was suggested for two specific teams.
A quick search, first round by Kim McCauley, shows that they played with five in the back in a 1-0 loss against Orlando Pride in April. Another significant five back moment against a top squad was an early match in May against Kansas City Current, where the Reign won, 1-0.
“It was early in the season. And I said to the coaching staff, ‘I’m not joking, this is what I did.’ And they were like, ‘Huh, interesting,'” she recounted.
“We researched it. We did a deep dive on it. We thought about how we could play it, and we went for it, and we liked it. It worked. We won the game.”
Later in the season, the Reign lost to Kansas City 2-0, and the Current clinched the 2025 NWSL Shield. In fairness to Harvey, they started the game with three in the back that day.
While Harvey may have used the technology out of curiosity and for general brainstorming, there’s still the part of actually executing the ideas. With Harvey emphasizing that ChatGPT ‘didn’t tell you how to play it, what to do in it, or any of that stuff,” but just the presentation of the idea sparked enough interest in her to bring it to her coaching staff.
So what has happened since?
The Reign have since used the five-back model in several of their games this season while also implementing a three-back or standard four-back formation. While it hasn’t made the team the most threatening in front of goal, it has made them a frustrating side to play against, and their record was enough this year to clinch them a playoff spot.
What final seeding they’ll be will depend on the final regular-season match day, as they’re currently in fourth place. The irony of the Reign’s NWSL Decision Day match is that it is against third-place Orlando Pride, and the two teams are still in contention for the honor to host a playoff match. Whoever is the winner between the two could potentially secure third place, while the loser could end as low as a seventh seed, pending results across the league.
Though no matter the playoff position, Harvey is confident in her team’s ability to adjust and adapt. It’s been their big strength this season despite the lack of goal scoring.
“We’ve obviously come in and out of it. We played it tons, then we came out of it, and then we went back into it. And now we’re quite, like, fluid actually. We can float in and out of it within games. And I love that,” said Harvey.
“When I hear coaches saying, ‘We don’t know what you’re going to do, you’re the hardest team to prepare for. Defend. You defend in multiple ways in games.’ I’m just like [fist pumping] that, I want everyone to not have a clue what we’re going to do. I think that is, like, amazing.”
What does ChatGPT say about Seattle Reign?
So now that the regular season is almost over, with just one game remaining with Decision Day on Sunday, what does ChatGPT have to say about Seattle Reign’s identity now?
For starters, it says a whole lot, including outdated information and multiple references to its old name, OL Reign, under previous ownership, OL Groupe, and that it has attracted some of the best international players, “such as Megan Rapinoe, Jess Fishlock, and Lydia Williams.”
Former U.S women’s national team star Rapinoe retired in 2023. So, has Williams, who also left the club in 2019. It also references the Reign’s playing style as “fast and possession-based,” which, considering the AI suggested a five-back to Harvey earlier this year, is the complete opposite of how they have played this season.
