In November 2012, it was confirmed that a Seattle-based women's professional soccer team owned by Bill Predmore had been accepted into a new women's professional soccer league, later named National Women's Soccer League. Former general manager of the Seattle Sounders Women and Seattle Sounders FC Director of Youth Programs, Amy Carnell, was named General Manager. On December 21, 2012, the team announced Laura Harvey as their first head coach. Harvey was head coach of Arsenal L.F.C. from 2010-2012 after serving as an assistant for two years, assisted and then coached Birmingham City L.F.C. from 2002-2008, and served as an assistant coach for England's U-17, U-19 and U-23 women's national teams from 2005-2011.
Leading into the preseason, it was learned that the Reign would be without all of their U.S. national team allocated players for almost half of the season. National team forward, Amy Rodriguez, announced she was pregnant with her first child and would not be playing during the inaugural season. U.S. national team goalkeeper, Hope Solo, would be away for the first part of the season after recovering from wrist surgery and Megan Rapinoe had signed with French side, Olympique Lyonnais, from January to June and would miss at least nine games.
Regular season
After traveling to Japan in the preseason to play matches against defending L. League champion INAC Kobe Leonessa, Fukuoka J. Anclas, and Nojima Stella Kanagawa, the Reign faced their first regular season match against the Chicago Red Stars at Benedictine University, in which Seattle's first college draft pick, Christine Nairn, scored the Reign's first goal of the season via a header off an assist from Liz Bogus. The Red Stars later tied the game 1-1, but the point that Seattle earned in the game would be its only for the next nine games. Without the U.S. national team players or a veteran goalscorer up front, the team struggled to win games. Although the losses were for the most part consistently low-scoring games, it was apparent that the Reign was missing some final ingredients for success. In June 2013, head coach Laura Harvey began making some trades and signing new players. Forward and Canadian international, Tiffany Cameron was waived, later to be picked up by FC Kansas City and former U.S. national team defender, Stephanie Cox was added to the roster. Mexican allocated player and former Stanford Cardinal standout, Teresa Noyola, was traded to FC Kansas City for Renae Cuellar, and Noyola's fellow former Stanford Cardinal goal-scorer, Lindsay Taylor was traded to the Washington Spirit. After a brief stint on the team by Tobagonian international, Kennya Cordner who was later waived and replaced by Australian national team co-captain, Emily van Egmond due to the league's restriction on only having two international players on a team, and the return of U.S. national team players, Solo and Rapinoe, the Reign began to turn the season around with a 1-1 tie against the Western New York Flash. The game would be the first of a six-game undefeated streak for the Reign with two ties and four wins. After losing to regional rival, Portland Thorns FC, 2-1 in the season finale in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,855, the Reign ended the 2013 NWSL season seventh in the league with a 5-14-3 record.
