It’s Monday, another weekend of the 2026 NWSL regular season is approaching, and so is ESPN’s Power Rankings.
Who’s ready to climb on the table? Who is at risk of free fall? Our writers have looked at matchday 21 performances to come up with rankings for all 16 teams in the league this week. Let’s take a closer look.
Previous rankings: 2
Next game: North Carolina Courage, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
NJ/NY Gotham FC bounced back from last weekend’s unexpected loss to Denver with a 2-1 victory over Racing Louisville. Guro Reiten opened the scoring early and became the first Norwegian to score in the NWSL. Gotham equalized nine minutes later. However, the defending NWSL champions reaffirmed their quality immediately after the second half buzzer and took the lead. Jaedyn Shaw scored a nice front-and-back goal and now leads the team in goals (7) and assists (5).
Previous rankings: 3
Next game: vs. Kansas City Current, Friday, 10 p.m. ET
The San Diego Wave bounced back from last weekend’s loss against Seattle on the road with a 2-1 win over North Carolina. Gia Corley opened her 2026 NWSL account with the first goal of the game. Melanie Barcenas then completed a beautiful move to score her sixth goal of the season. The Waves kept the Courage offense largely quiet despite missing defenseman Mimi Van Zanten due to yellow card accumulation.
Previous rankings: 5
Next game: Angeles City, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET
The Seattle Reign has won three straight for the first time since 2024; the longest active winning streak in the NWSL. They haven’t conceded a goal in this winning streak. The Reign kept their playoff hopes alive with a clean 2-0 victory over Sounders FC. They now lead the playoff line by four points. Sofia Huerta opened the scoring via a penalty kick, her eighth successful PK in nine career attempts. Veteran Brittany Ratcliffe then tied the game up in stoppage time.
Previous rankings: 1
Next game: Chicago Star, Sunday, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN Live)
The power ranking leader suffered its biggest decline last week after a 3-0 home loss to expansion team Boston Legacy. Washington was unable to capitalize on the momentum from last week’s historic win over Portland on the road. It’s not just the loss itself, but the way the Holy Spirit unravels it. Washington was unable to generate any offense with a season-low 0.29 expected goals and two shots on goal. The Spirit’s defense collapsed in the closing stages, conceding three goals in 17 minutes. Boston showed more fight, energy and creativity. What long-term impact will this outcome have on the Shield competition?
Previous rankings: 4
Next game: vs. Angel City, Sunday, 7 p.m. ET
The Utah Royals are rebounding from a tough home loss to Boston last weekend. They got the win on the road, beating Houston 1-0. Mina Tanaka scored the only goal off a brilliant assist from Nuria Rábano. Tanaka is now the club’s record holder for career-winning goals (six) and goals in a season (nine). Mia Justus replaced Mandy McGlynn at goalie, but it wasn’t a busy night. Kate Del Fava maintained her imperious Iron Lady persona (76 games and counting) despite a head injury that required her head to be bandaged.
Previous rankings: 7
Next game: Friday at the San Diego Wave at 10 p.m. ET
The Trend extended their unbeaten home streak to 29 games with a 2-2 draw at home against rival Orlando at CPKC Stadium. The latest match between the two Shield winners featured a heated battle between NWSL superstars Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga, with Banda scoring a quick brace and both stars shining brightly. Chawenga, making her first start since mid-July, scored her 10th goal in 10 games as the team launched a counterattack. Elizabeth Ball then equalized from a corner kick. Current posted 3.02 xG and took a total of 24 shots, but was unable to find the game-winning shot. It was a tumultuous week for Kansas City, and they will regret not creating more chances.
Previous rankings: 6
Next game: Orlando Pride, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
Despite having more than twice as many shots on goal and expected goals as the Chicago Stars, Portland failed to make it 1-0 and squandered the lead in stoppage time. This 1-1 tie is the second consecutive week that Portland has lost points at home. The Thorns went into last week’s match against Washington on a 13-match home unbeaten run. The Trail Blazers’ lead has fallen by 21 points this season; that’s the most since Opta started tracking the statistics in 2016.
Previous rankings: 10
Next game: vs. Seattle Reign, Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET
Angel City FC fought back at home in Denver Summit to pick up a point in the first ever meeting between the two sides. Maiara Niehues opened the scoring with a brilliant half-volley. She has now set a single-season record of eight goals. Angel City FC scored three goals in just 12 minutes. That wasn’t the final result, though, as VAR upheld Prisca Chilufya’s goal after an initial offside call. Ally Sentnor scored her first penalty to tie the game at 3-3 for the club. Svendis Jonsdottir was also lively in attack and was forthright in her post-match comments. “Being 3-1 down at home is not good enough. It’s unacceptable. But we have to persevere and not give up.”
Previous rankings: 9
Next game: vs. Bay FC, Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET
Good news? The expansion team scored three goals in consecutive weeks. Bad news? They failed to maintain their lead and drew 3-3 away at Angel City FC. Yuzuki Yamamoto continued her excellent scoring form as the Denver Nuggets drew 1-1. Lindsay Heaps then scored her first goal for the club to put the team ahead. Victory seemed a foregone conclusion when Janine Sonis’ long-range shot made it 3-1. However, Yamamoto was substituted and the Nuggets spent the rest of the game on defense. VAR intervened to preserve Angel City’s second goal before Summit defender Ayo Oke was adjudged to have committed a foul in the penalty area. Denver goalkeeper Abby Smith has attempted to save penalties six times this season and was unable to do so against Centeno. The potential three points of the summit rolled into one.
Previous rankings: 9
Next game: vs. Gotham, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
The North Carolina Courage’s defensive weaknesses were on full display in their 2-1 road loss to the San Diego Waves. Messi Bell will miss the rest of the season this week, while her centre-back partner Natalie Jacobs remains sidelined with a head injury. The Courage couldn’t stop the Tide’s scoring chances. Meanwhile, Ashley Sanchez continued her excellent form with a beautiful curling shot into the top corner for her 19th goal of the season. It was the first time this season that the Courage had lost a game in which Sanchez scored. She is one goal shy of the all-time record set by Chawinga in 2024 with six games remaining.
Previous rankings: 14
Next game: vs. Houston Dash, Sunday at 2 p.m. ET
Has Boston Heritage turned the corner? After losing four games in a row and conceding 15 goals in that period, they have now won two games in a row against top four opponents. Boston stepped up defensively and allowed just one goal in the period. By all accounts, Heritage is the better team than Washington. They already have a league record for most goals scored after the 85th minute (nine goals in total) and today Amanda Gutierrez added two more goals to their tally. She became the first traditional player to score twice.
Previous rankings: 11
Next game: vs. Portland Thorns, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
The Pride continue to benefit from the bounce back under their new manager. They tied with Kansas City 2-2 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Banda made a difference for the team with his brace that day. She has scored in 14 of the 20 NWSL games she has played this season. However, the Pride were unable to maintain their lead. Interim coach Yolanda Thomas sees a glimmer of hope. “When you’re 2-0 up and you don’t get the three points, you’re disappointed,” she said. “But the fact that we’re now disappointed not to get three points in a game like this is testament to how far we’ve come in just a week and a half.”
Previous rankings: 12
Next game: Denver Summit, Wednesday, 9:30 pm ET
It was a similar story for Sounders FC, who had promising moments against Seattle but failed to convert them into goals. Claire Hutton struck a powerful shot on the hour mark but Cristiana Girelli could not keep the rebound in the frame. New recruit Jenna Nighswonger made a mistake while tackling Nérilia Mondésir, leading to Seattle’s first goal of the game. Goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz made more outstanding saves to keep the score at 2-0.
Previous rankings: 13
Next game: Sunday at Bay FC at 7 p.m. ET
This was Louisville Athletic, who suffered their 15th loss of the year (second-most in the NWSL). Racing came out strong in the first half against NY/NJ Gotham FC, with Kayla Fischer tying the score. However, she failed to convert a great chance late in the first half. Emma Sears did not start and came off the bench to have little impact. Discussions of the team relocating continue as they now seem certain to miss out on a chance to return to the playoffs.
Previous rankings: 16
Next game: vs. Washington Spirit, Sunday, 5 p.m. ET (ESPN Live)
The Stars earned their first win on the road in two years at Providence Park. Their hard-fought 1-1 draw with the Portland Thorns was a bright spot in an otherwise terrible season. The Stars have allowed a combined 12 goals in their first two games. They were more organized against Portland, with Michel Alozzi proving effective up front. Chicago was a little unlucky and gave up an own goal in the 22nd minute. However, they kept moving forward and were duly rewarded. Taylor Wood scored her first career NWSL goal via a corner kick in the 92nd minute. The draw means they become the first team to be officially eliminated from the 2026 playoffs. However, such results suggest that they may play a damaging role in the overall process.
Previous rankings: 15
Next game: Boston Legacy, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET
The Dash’s 0-1 loss at home to the Utah Royals was indeed disappointing. For the first time all season they didn’t have a shot on target. However, the defeat was met with huge repercussions and the club announced on Sunday it was parting ways with head coach Fabrice Gautrault and technical director Twila Kilgore with immediate effect. Gautrault is the fourth head coach to be fired this season. The Dash have lost four straight games but are one win away from tying last season’s win total of eight.