It's Monday, and with another weekend of 2026 NWSL regular season in the books, it's time for ESPN's Power Rankings.
Who's set for a climb up the table? Who's in danger of freefall? Our writers studied the action across Matchday 22 to come up with this week's order of all 16 teams in the league. Let's dive in.
1. NJ/NY Gotham FC
Previous ranking: 1
Next match: vs. Chicago Stars FC (Friday, Sep. 25, 8 p.m. ET)
Gotham beat the North Carolina Courage in Cary by a 2-1 scoreline. The first brace of Jordynn Dudley's career lifted Gotham over the home side in a game where neither team dominated. The game winner happened in second-half stoppage time and delivered Gotham's first set of back-to-back wins after a three-game winless skid. They're now six points clear of second place.
2. San Diego Wave FC
Previous ranking: 2
Next match: at Racing Louisville FC (Friday, Sep. 25, 6.30 p.m. ET)
The San Diego Wave beat the Kansas City Current 2-0 at home. It was an own goal that initially put the Wave ahead, with a 90+1' tally icing the win. This team committed to their possession-based approach and survived the Current's press on their way to their second victory in as many games, which bumped them to third place in the NWSL standings.
3. Washington Spirit
Previous ranking: 4
Next match: vs. Angel City FC (Saturday, Sep. 26, 6.30 p.m. ET)
The Washington Spirit beat the Chicago Stars 3-0 on the road. There was never a real doubt about whether the Spirit would come away with all three points in this one. They went up a goal in the seventh minute thanks to Trinity Rodman, and Andi Sullivan buried a penalty kick later in the first half to double the Spirit's lead. Tamara Bolt's first NWSL goal in the 85th minute was the exclamation point on this one, keeping Washington firmly in second place. It's almost as if last weekend's shock 3-0 loss to Boston didn't happen.
4. Denver Summit FC
Previous ranking: 9
Next match: at Kansas City Current (Saturday, Sep. 26, 12.30 p.m. ET)
The Denver Summit beat the Seattle Reign 2-1 at home. Goals just before and after halftime from Delanie Sheehan and Tash Flint, respectively, were the difference. The win extended Denver's unbeaten run to a season-best five matches, which renders them one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment. Will they continue this run into the playoffs before the regular season's up?
5. Portland Thorns
Previous ranking: 7
Next match: vs. Houston Dash (Saturday, Sep. 26, 8.45 p.m. ET)
The Portland Thorns dominated the Orlando Pride by a 4-1 scoreline on the road. Though four different Thorns found the back of the net, the headline story in this game was undoubtedly Morgan Weaver's first goal after her lengthy recovery journey. Portland's three-game winless streak finally comes to a close, too, which is a good sign after they dropped points against league-worst Chicago last week.
6. Angel City FC
Previous ranking: 8
Next match: at Washington Spirit (Saturday, Sep. 26, 6.30 p.m. ET)
Angel City beat the Utah Royals 3-0 on the road. An Ally Sentnor penalty opened the scoring in the 26th minute, before Taylor Suarez and Sveindís Jónsdóttir added insurance goals in the second half to put the game way out of reach of a Utah side that played with nine for over an hour. With their fourth win in five games, the Angels find themselves above the playoff line for the first time in six weeks.
7. Seattle Reign FC
Previous ranking: 3
Next match: vs. Boston Legacy FC (Friday, Sep. 25, 8.30 p.m. ET)
The Seattle Reign fell to the Denver Summit 2-1 on Saturday night at Centennial Stadium. Another Brittany Ratcliffe tally got the Reign on the board after they were already down two goals. Though the score made no difference in the result, it extended Seattle's scoring streak to 16 games. Despite finding the back of the net, the Reign have been kept out of the win column in back-to-back games thanks to their midweek loss to Angel City. The next match against the Boston Legacy is a must-win if they want to keep their playoff hopes alive.
8. Kansas City Current
Previous ranking: 6
Next match: vs. Denver Summit FC (Saturday, Sep. 26, 12.30 p.m. ET)
The Kansas City Current fell to the San Diego Wave on the road, 2-0. This was a disappointing result for a team whose playoff hopes are still up in the air. Despite nearly matching the Wave on shots and shots on target -- and registering more opposition-box touches -- the Current couldn't find the back of the net in this one. To make matters worse, Laney Rouse's own goal and late-game red card directly contributed to this loss. They're now winless in two and teetering around the playoff line with five games to go.
9. Utah Royals
Previous ranking: 5
Next match: vs. North Carolina Courage (Sunday, Sep. 27, 7.00 p.m. ET)
The Royals played with just nine players for over 60 minutes of this game and effectively got trampled 3-0 at home. They ended the weekend in fifth place, tied on points with Portland, and in their lowest table position since Week 13. In reality, there's just not much to comment on following a game where two early red cards set the tempo.
10. North Carolina Courage
Previous ranking: 10
Next match: at Utah Royals (Sunday, Sep. 27, 7.00 p.m. ET)
The North Carolina Courage fell to Gotham 2-1 at home. It felt like a series of unfortunate events in Cary: two almost equalizers were ruled back for offside before Natalia Staude's 69th minute tally finally stood to pull the Courage equal with the visitors. Unfortunately though, a 91st minute concession saw North Carolina drop all three points. That means the Courage have lost back-to-back games for the first time since mid-July, which is not exactly where they'll want to be as the sun starts setting on the regular season, but is no reason for panic.
11. Boston Legacy FC
Previous ranking: 11
Next match: at Seattle Reign FC (Friday, Sep. 25, 8.30 p.m. ET)
The Boston Legacy fell to the Houston Dash by a 2-1 scoreline at home. Aïssata Traoré's 10th goal of the season pulled the Legacy level in the 59th minute after they conceded right before halftime. A goalkeeping blunder from Casey Murphy in the 85th saw the Legacy drop all three points, despite the fact that they managed 1.29 of their 1.71 total xG in the second frame. Coming off two impressive wins, this result from Boston against a struggling Houston side was surprising to say the least.
12. Orlando Pride
Previous ranking: 12
Next match: at Bay FC (Sunday, Sep. 27, 5.00 p.m. ET)
The Orlando Pride fell to the Portland Thorns 4-1 at home. Ally Lemos' first career goal helped the home side avoid a shut out, but it made no difference. The Pride have won a single game in their last four outings, and their playoff hopes are waning big time. Interim head coach Yolanda Thomas put it best post-game: "It's just a tough result."
13. Bay FC
Previous ranking: 13
Next match: vs. Orlando Pride (Sunday, Sep. 27, 5.00 p.m. ET)
Bay FC beat Racing Louisville by a 2-0 scoreline at home. Alex Pfeiffer and Karlie Lema found the back of the net just six minutes apart in the second half. It was a complete performance for the Bay, who managed to hold Racing to 0.58 expected goals on their way to tallying nearly five times that amount. The win snapped Bay's winless streak and bumped them up in the standings, both of which are a welcome sight for a team that's struggled this year.
14. Houston Dash
Previous ranking: 16
Next match: at Portland Thorns FC (Saturday, Sep. 26, 8.45 p.m. ET)
The Houston Dash beat the Boston Legacy 2-1 on the road. Danielle Colaprico's first goal in four years, paired with Messiah Bright's late-game strike, lifted the visitors over Boston for the second time this season. The win effectively snapped Houston's four-game losing skid, but they still sit eight points outside the playoff line with little hope of crossing it.
15. Racing Louisville FC
Previous ranking: 14
Next match: vs. San Diego Wave FC (Friday, Sep. 25, 6.30 p.m. ET)
Racing Louisville lost to Bay FC 2-0 on the road. It was a rough showing for Racing. They failed to generate much by way of the attack, only registering two shots on target in this match. Plus, it was their NWSL-record 25th game without a shutout. How much longer until Louisville is effectively eliminated from the playoffs?
16. Chicago Stars FC
Previous ranking: 15
Next match: at Gotham FC (Friday, Sep. 25, 8 p.m. ET)
The Chicago Stars fell 3-0 to the Washington Spirit at home. It was a tough showing for Chicago, who only managed 40 passes in the final third -- less than half of what they allowed the Spirit. Chicago has notched a single win in their last 12 games and will face first-place Gotham in their next match. Things continue to look bleak in the windy city.
