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Powerful Spirits, Weak Currents | NWSL Power Rankings.

The Washington Spirit have ascended while the KC Current are in crisis. Here's the latest look at the last week in the National Women's Soccer League.

Is it too early to worry about a struggling contender?

That is the question for Chris Armas’s struggling Kansas City Current.

In a way, it’s too early to worry about any NWSL club when 2 points separate 3rd place from 10th, and specifically, the Current are just 4 points behind the 3rd place (wait, what?) Utah Royals. However, when that club lost 4-0 against the Spirit, has a 1-11 goal differential through 4 away matches, and has already lost more matches than they had in either the 2024 or 2025 seasons, the panic is understandable. Armas has preached patience in his post match press conferences, insisting that the club’s form hasn’t been nearly as bad as the results, and the xG table somewhat backs him up… but the Current have still struggled. Even the xG table has them outside of the playoff picture after 6 matches, I’ll dive into it more in the Current’s section, but they have been straight up bad, which is not something you could have ever said about the club since Vlatko Andonovski took the reins 2 seasons ago.

Now, that can all change in a matter of a few weeks with NWSL games coming hot and heavy. Last week, I was worried about Gotham, and they buried Bay FC 6 feet under this weekend. The Current has too much talent to occupy the Boston and Chicago tier, but as they occupy the bottom of the pile of NWSL mess, that seems right where they belong as of now.

Speaking of NWSL mess.

ESPN’s Jeff Kassouf followed up his NWSL calendar shift reporting last week with a new report saying the league has decided not to vote on the idea as of now. Much like the process in MLS, I sincerely doubt this is the last we’ll hear about this idea, but for now, the NWSLPA’s push back, citing lack of control over facilities and infrastructure – as well as multiple foreign players directly contradicting the floated idea that foreign players were asking for the shift – has wounded the idea.

Interestingly, the NWSL and NWSLPA have also partnered with Project ACL, a global initiative aimed at understanding why women’s soccer has experienced an epidemic of ACL injuries. A fact that

Brianna Pinto recently pointed to as another reason to bin the idea of more winter training dates, given the need for artificial surfaces.

Alright, let’s check in on the soccer.

The Rankings.

1. Washington Spirit (Last Ranking 4)

The Spirit are finally being rewarded for patience following a 3rd straight win and a 4th straight clean sheet following the 1-0 win over Racing Louisville midweek.

Two occasions of stuffing opponents out wide and winning the battles centrally. The Spirit survived the performance in Denver, and, since then, has run over the opposition. Is this because the group “acquired” José the Coyote on that West Coast excursion, or is this just a group that has, quite frankly, been good all season, but didn’t have the results to show for it, and may have been rushing the better chances? Obviously, it’s the Coyote… but Tara Rudd has been a top 3 g+ player for the last few weeks, and Rodman is finally eating the just deserts of really good play.

The gameplan vs Louisville highlights how well Adrián González has been able to gameplan against specific opponents. The Spirit stayed narrow – similar to the formation that hit a dead end in Denver – and Louisville were shuttled out wide. Only 12% of Racing’s moves into the attacking 3rd came into the central channels, and only 17% of their passes into the box.

The Spirit were narrow and that stifled Racing's attack.

It also helps that both Leicy Santos and Claudia Martinez have started to take the ball by the horns (that’s how that saying goes). Santos had her best game as a Spirit in the 4-0 drubbing of Kansas City.

Meanwhile, Martinez is 9th in goals added (0.73) across all of the NWSL from just 209 NWSL minutes. That $1 million price tag is going to look like a steal before her 20 y/o season.

This is the team I would not want to see on the schedule anytime before the summer break.

2. Portland Thorns (Last Ranking 3)

Folks, Sophia Wilson is back back. A goal in LA against Angel City, quickly followed up midweek with a goal at Providence vs San Diego, and all of a sudden, the Thorns are top of the table.

The Thorns outscored their opponents 4-1 this week, and those opponents were both top of the table at kickoff. The good? Those results weren’t coming under the Wilson-less Rob Gale squad last season. The bad? The Thorns won from just 1.47 xG cumulatively in those matches.

This isn’t surprising to me. The Thorns are more built to be ruthless against the run of play than control possession and break teams down, and it helps that Robert Vilahamn can add Sophia Wilson to a young attacking core that was quickly advancing towards elite status last season.

Can they continue to hold defensively with a CB partnership by committee? That’s the biggest concern at this point. Sam Hiatt has had 3 different CB partners through 7 matches in Obaze, Perry, and the rookie Carolyn Calzada — Obaze even started next to Perry in the midweek cleansheet vs San Diego.

The Thorns have only conceded 6 goals in 7 games, the 3rd best defense in the league at this point, but you worry about the sustainability long term as they’ve conceded the 4th most expected goals in the league. That’s a big disparity between results and expectations.

3. San Diego Wave (Last Ranking 2)

The Wave came up agonizingly short in Portland midweek, finishing a run of 5 straight wins following the Jane Campbell masterpiece on opening day.

This is still the best team in the league right now, but the margins between best and out of the playoffs is closer than it’s been over the past 3-4 seasons. Every team has a weakness, and for the Wave, that weakness was glaring in Portland.

Against a team like Portland that can be patient without the ball — and probably prefers to play without it — San Diego will have some trouble creating the space they need to create those transitional moments.

This outcome might be different when Cat Macario is inserted into the lineup, but for now, it’s a team that can’t afford to miss the big chances in big matches, especially on the road.

This may be a one-off, but the Wave have yet to play the Spirits, Gothams, and Prides of the league. This loss exposed a major chink in their armor, as much as they can certainly argue their 2 losses this season weren’t just results.

“I think we created enough chances to win this game.” Eidevall reflected after the loss. “But our efficiency needs to be better.”

4. Angel City (Last Ranking 1)

ACFC lost a 2nd straight and suffered for not having a killer instinct while they were controlling the match. Ultimately, Portland beat them on the counter with an attack that looked dangerous every time they had the opportunity to build forward, but that’s the thing, Angel City didn’t allow that to happen very often until late into the 2nd half.

A relatively even, low-event first half gave way to a 2nd frame that saw ACFC take on 63% of possession while failing to register a big chance until Prisca Chilufya’s goal in the 98th minute.

I’m not ready to throw in the towel on Angel City’s NWSL Shield chase. This could have easily been a match that goes the other way if Kennedy Fuller’s chance off a long throw in the 54th minute hits the back of the net... but there are some weaknesses that can be exploited. ACFC are almost there but there's at least one piece they need to add in the midfield.

5. Gotham FC (Last Ranking 12)

Sorry, Juan Carlos, I was unfamiliar with your game. No one benefitted from the international break more than Gotham, who completely steamrolled Bay FC 3-0 on Saturday. This was a perfect performance for a group that had scored just two goals over the first 5 matches. Well, that attack woke up, scored 3 goals in the first half, and should have had more if not for Jordan Silkowitz doing her best to salvage something for the Bay.

14 shots on target, 19 attempts inside the box, and 4.71 xGOT. This wasn’t just a get-right game. Gotham put Emma Coates’s side to the sword.

Most importantly for the Bats, this was the breakout match for Jordynne Dudley, and while she didn’t score, she was one of the leaders in g+ throughout the weekend.

This is what I needed to see from the defending champs, and I’m intrigued by the Midge Purse-Guro Reiten Fullback pairing.

Then, Gotham took care of business 0-2 in Chicago, outshooting the Stars 7-1 after Jordynne Dudley scored her first goal of the season in the opening minute.

It was a good week for the rookie.

6. Orlando Pride (Last Ranking 5)

A few things on the Pride.

Barbra Banda is the most dominant player in the world. Full stop.
Orlando has deserved more than their spot in the table to this point but last year’s lack of polish has crept back in, even with Banda pulling goals out of nothing.

The Pride needs to be clinical, but they also have to iron out this 1v1 defending issue. The Pride has allowed the 2nd fewest expected goals through this point in the season, while still outscoring what they’ve allowed. The results will even out… they have to even out.

7. North Carolina Courage (Last Ranking 11)

Ok, Manaka Matsukubo.

The Courage ended a 3 match winless streak in style against a Houston squad that had been undefeated through its first two home matches. NCC were clinical where the Dash weren’t, and while it was far from a perfect performance, the Courage’s top players are proving to be true game changers.

Ashley Sanchez is now 8th in goals added amongst all NWSL players. Mak Lind must have gone mad watching the tape of her usage over the last two seasons.

Following the win, the Courage may have slipped up a bit away at Boston in the 2-2 draw. Mak Lind’s side conceded twice in the first 15 minutes, before Ashley Sanchez brought things level in the 76 th minute. North Carolina should have waled away with all 3 points but there’s some naivety that needs to be worked out if they want to content this fall.

A home match against the paltry KC Current is next.

8. Houston Dash (Last Ranking 6)

The Dash became yet another team to lose at home this week, despite some positive play that could have easily sealed the win. Unfortunately, the Manaka-Sanchez connection is cooking and North Carolina was able to exploit the Dash’s press by dropping a pass between the lines.

If Houston can do any better than 0.13 expected goals on target from 1.86 xG then this is a different story, but for now, the Dash are wounded.

In other news, the Dash have acquired former Racing Louisville midfielder Emina Ekić from Sporting Lexington for an undisclosed fee, with Lexington calling it, “The transfer fee ties the largest in LSC men’s club history, and marks the largest ever received by a Gainbridge Super League club from a player sale to the NWSL.”

The Bosnian international was the USL Super League Player of the Year during the competition’s inaugural season with Spokane, before moving to Lexington ahead of the 2025-26 season. She’ll bring some much needed veteran depth to Houston’s midfield, and add a boost to a squad that is already defying expectations, but needed to reinforce an inexperienced core.

9. Utah Royals (Last Ranking 14)

Alright, I am finally somewhat buying into these Utah Royals. This NWSL season is as open as ever, and while the Royals' run of results has them 3rd in the table, they’re only 2 points clear of 10th place. It’s now 3 straight wins for Jimmy Coentraets (2 over Chicago and Boston) but more impressively, this win didn’t feature Cece Delzer, who currently ranks 3rd in the NWSL in goals added.

So what went right?

Traveling to Seattle, the Royals' pressing and defending structure stifled the Reign centrally, while Mia Justus handled all of the Reign’s 5 shots on target.

If Utah solidifies their position in the table (ok, I’m not completely bought in yet)... Mia Justus MVP?

Seattle was still dangerous in moments, but the Royals did a good job of mitigating the danger and taking advantage of the Reign’s mistakes, such as the giveaway in the 1st minute of the match.

10. Seattle Reign (Last Ranking 7)

The Reign are struggling with inconsistency and have now failed to score in 50% of their matches to kick off 2026, following up the scoreless draw against Denver with this mistake-riddled performance. Utah came out smothering Seattle on their home pitch, and by the time they went up 2-0 in the 7th minute, the Reign were looking up at a massive climb.

Blair Newman made a great observation about Seattle’s attacking struggles that plays out in all 3 of the squad’s scoreless outings.

For whatever reason, Laura Harvey hasn’t found a way to create through the width without building centrally. If opponents can suffocate the middle of the pitch, the Reign seem to lose the ability to either create through Jess Fishlock or whip crosses into the mixer to exploit the numbers advantage.

11. Racing Louisville (Last Ranking 13)

Racing Louisville will keep suffering until they can find a secondary mode of attack that isn’t just advancing the ball through Emma Sears. Against Orlando, they pulled out the 3-2 win thanks to quick scoring opportunities at the feet of Lauren Milliet and Sarah Weber but those chances never materialized in DC. The Spirit stuffed the middle of the park and Racing only ocmpleted 1 cross despite the majority of their final 3rd entries coming from the left flank.

Sunday’s match vs Gotham is a big one, can they evolve the attack against a Gotham side that will aim to grind the match to a halt?

Results may very.

12. Denver Summit (Last Ranking 8)

The Summit shocked the Wave early at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, sprinting out to a 2-0 win as the Wave struggled to grab a hold of the match. Unfortunately, the dam broke in the 49th minute as Lia Godfrey and Kennedy Wesley brought the game level. Then, the Wave finally pulled ahead in the 65th minute after Carson Pickett’s own goal.

The Summit have been surprising through 6 matches but it’s nights like this against the best in the league where the talent mismatch shows itself. The Summit should have won this match, with the amount of chances and the quality of their shots but Abby Smith is starting to come back down to earth and an own goal was their undoing. Still, they’re only going to be better after the summer break.

13. Bay FC (Last Ranking 9)

The last two matches have exposed Bay FC’s early success. They lost 5-0 on aggregate to top dogs Washington Spirit and Gotham FC. So, Bay may have been ahead of schedule in their early results and the attack has also been hindered by Alex Pfeiffer’s knee injury she picked up during the international break. Should your attack ride or die on an 18 year old? Maybe no but Pfeiffer is tied for 4th in the league with a pair of assists and tied for 8th in total goal contributions.

That’s a big piece to miss but also points to the types of matches Bay have found success. Matches that allow space to operate on the wings, and space to find transition opportunities.

Will that spacing be available against San Diego? Probably. Can they then outscore San Diego if they allow the match to open up the way Emma Coates’s side will need to if they are to find the space to run in behind the lines? Probably not…

That being said, this is a young team with room to grow and one of the best young CDMs in the world, they’ll be fine even if this isn’t quite their year.

Unfortunately, they can’t blame the defensive breakdowns on poor goalkeeping as Jordan Slikowitz was probably the player of the match in the 3-0 loss vs Gotham.

That’s tough. Bay wasted a 12 save, 2.71 goals prevented performance. That’s tough.

14. KC Current (Last Ranking 10)

How different does this match look if Croix Bethue’s breakaway in the first half puts the Current up 1-0?

“Games change goals, guys.” A distressed Chris Armas said after the 4-0 loss to the Washington Spirit, and it’s hard to argue against that. Look at the momentum chart, this might have been the first time the Current looked good away from CPKC this year… that is, until Leicy Santos’s goal in the 26th minute. From there, the Spirit dominated, and when Lorena’s bobble in stoppage time turned into Rodman’s first goal of the season, it was game over as the Current produced just one shot on target in the second half.

The Current managed just one shot on target over the second half, and while the overall xG might hint at a match that could have gone differently with a few bounces, the Current weren’t nearly dangerous enough all night long.

Maybe this is a case of finding the right mix up top – how much more patience do we have for the Ally Sentnor #9 experiment? – but the bigger problem is the spacing between the CBs and the midfield that the Spirit exploited all night long, and a lack of true CDM to track back into that space. The Current thrived under Vlatko Andonovski, not just because of a near perfect mix of players with depth at every position, but because the lines were compact to support an aggressive press and quickly recycle possession whenever opponents attempted to clear balls over the formation.

Instead, the spacing under Armas has allowed the opposition to pass directly through the press. It has to be better.

15. Chicago Stars (Last Ranking 15)

The Stars bookended the International break with 2 MOTM performances from Katie Atkinson, who is now, presumably, GK1 over Alyssa Naeher. Lund came up big as the Stars were outshot 8 to 2 on target, but Chicago made their moments count in transition.

It’s not entirely convincing, but if Chicago can keep getting these performances out of Atkinson – who was an elite GK in Louisville before the bottom dropped out over the past year and a half – then they’ll be in an ok spot by the time Mal Swanson returns.

*Swanson officially returned to training this week*

Unfortunately, Atkinson picked up an injury ahead of the midweek match vs Gotham. Not that that would have mattered with Gotham keeping the Stars without a shot on target until the 85th minute.

The Stars hung in there longer than expected, but this team is still a ways from competing.

16. Boston Legacy (Last week 16)

I’m tempted to move the legacy past the Stars after they suffered the severe misfortune of poor goalkeeping for and elite goalkeeping against, but the lack of clinical finishing seems like a feature as opposed to a bug at this point. Still, on the road in tough conditions, there’s at least something to build off of here with Sammy Smith, Traoré, and Amanda Gutierres combining very well. 2.25 expected goals on target from 2.72 xG should have given the Swans something here… It’s a cruel sport.

The Swans were then rewarded for that underperformance with a 2-2 draw vs North Carolina to grab the club’s first ever point.

Filipa Patão’s 3-1-2-1-3/3-3-3-1 system is something to behold. I’m not sure how much runway it will have in this league but if Boston can continue being a tough out, then maybe there is something to build on here.

Conclusion:

Alright folks. That’s it from me this week, this is the tightest the league has felt in a few seasons. There are no perfect soccer clubs, and that's a beautiful thing.

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