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 a free fall? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 14 to come up with this week's order of all 16 teams in the league. Let's dive in.
1. Washington Spirit
Previous ranking: 2
Next match: at Utah Royals, Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET
The Spirit topped Denver 1-0 to regain the top spot in the standings and our Power Rankings. It was a tactical chess match for large stretches of the game, but Washington scored one of the best team goals of the weekend to come away with the win. Leicy Santos won the ball deep in the Spirit's defensive third shortly after subbing on, and after some quick combinations up the field, Trinity Rodman played a perfect ball into the feet of Sofia Cantore, who scored a total banger. This was Washington's fifth win in their past six games.
2. NJ/NY Gotham FC
Previous ranking: 1
Next match: at Bay FC, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET
Gotham tied Portland 2-2 on the road in the game of the weekend. Midge Purce found the back of the net in the second minute, and although Gotham fell behind twice, Sam Kerr's first goal since rejoining the league leveled it in the 62nd. Gotham controlled 63% of the possession and edged the hosts in expected goals on target, opposition-box touches, tackles and duels won. This team's defensive consistency remains impressive, which is undoubtedly an odd thing to say after conceding twice, but sometimes that's what happens against the league's most potent offense.
3. Utah Royals
Previous ranking: 4
Next match: vs. Washington Spirit, Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET
The Royals beat North Carolina 4-1 to record their ninth win of the season. Although this was Utah's biggest win so far this year, it's worth mentioning that every single one of these goals came from a set piece. Three of the goals were the result of plays born from corner kicks, and the fourth was a penalty kick in stoppage time. To put this into perspective, this team only managed to generate 0.32 xG in the run of play against the Courage -- and still scored four goals. Regardless, a win is a win, and the Royals have notched their first set of back-to-back wins since before the break.
4. San Diego Wave FC
Previous ranking: 3
Next match: at Washington Spirit, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET
The Wave fell 2-0 to the Seattle Reign at home. Despite controlling the attacking momentum for most of this game, two back-to-back defense lapses early in the first half -- paired with an unreal performance by Reign goalkeeper Claudia Dickey -- meant the Wave dropped all three points in this one. It wasn't for lack of trying, though. San Diego recorded 41 opposition-box touches and 22 total shots, generating 2.64 expected goals. Sometimes, the ball just doesn't find the back of the net.
5. Portland Thorns
Previous ranking: 7
Next match: at Utah Royals, Sunday, 8p.m. ET
The Thorns battled Gotham FC to a 2-2 draw at Providence Park. After conceding shortly after kickoff, Portland evened the score when Renee Lyles buried her first professional goal -- set up by Pietra Tordin's league-leading seventh assist -- then took the lead early in the second half through Jessie Fleming's deflected finish, only to concede again in the 62nd minute. Still, there are real positives: The Thorns scored twice against one of the league's stingiest defenses, held on for the draw despite nearly 20 minutes down a player after Jayden Perry's red card for the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, and welcomed star attacker Morgan Weaver back to the field.
6. Kansas City Current
Previous ranking: 5
Next match: vs. Angel City FC, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
The Current lost 1-0 to Boston on the road. The result doesn't clearly communicate how much Kansas City struggled to settle into this match. Its offense looked disjointed and its defense was unorganized at times. This could be chalked up to player availability: Star attackers Michelle Cooper (injury) and Temwa Chawinga (international duty) were unavailable for this match. Plus, the Current were missing their go-to between the sticks in Lorena (injury). Regardless, this loss marked Kansas City's seventh of the season, all of which have come away from home. Would having their regular starters available have made a difference, if the Current's away track record is that bad? It's hard to tell.
7. Angel City FC
Previous ranking: 6
Next match: at Kansas City Current, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
Angel City lost 2-1 to last-place Racing Louisville at home to close out the weekend. This was one of those games that supports the ongoing parity argument in the NWSL. Angel City headed into this matchup on a three-game win streak, and Racing were winless in six. Despite controlling nearly two-thirds of the possession battle and registering 30 shots with 2.16 expected goals, the Angels managed only a single goal late in this game. There's no doubt Angel City will regret having left points on the table against one of the league's worst teams.
8. Denver Summit FC
Previous ranking: 8
Next match: vs. Boston Legacy, Sunday, 9 p.m. ET (stream live on ESPN)
Denver fell to the Spirit on the road 1-0. It was a hard-fought battle with the hosts, but the Summit just couldn't get themselves on the scoreboard. Despite managing 15 shots, only one of those was on target. A VAR-overturned penalty kick call late in the game after a Lindsey Heaps collision will leave the Summit with a sour taste in their mouths after dropping all three points.
9. Boston Legacy FC
Previous ranking: 11
Next match: at Denver Summit, Sunday, 9 p.m. ET (stream live on ESPN)
The Legacy beat Kansas City by a 1-0 scoreline at home. Aïssata Traoré was the hero in this one, burying a ball that skidded to her off a deflection from teammate Bianca St. Georges. This marks the Legacy's third shutout in four games after failing to keep their opponents off the board in their first 13 matches. That's a sign of progress in Boston.
10. Seattle Reign FC
Previous ranking: 13
Next match: at Bay FC, Saturday, 8:45 p.m. ET
The Reign beat the Wave 2-0 on the road. The Reign came out of the gates hot and netted two back-to-back goals in the 17th and 20th minutes courtesy of Maddie Mercado and Jordyn Bugg. Still, Seattle didn't carry that momentum through the final whistle. Instead, goalkeeper Dickey's heroics are the reason the Reign came away with the win, since she recorded a new career-high eight saves. Surely the team is grateful that Dickey's first start back from injury landed on this matchup.
11. Orlando Pride
Previous ranking: 12
Next match: at North Carolina Courage, Friday, 8 p.m. ET
The Orlando Pride beat the Chicago Stars at home 1-0. By every metric except the scoreline, Orlando absolutely dominated this game. They generated 28 shots and 3.57 total expected goals. The Pride took 53 touches in the Chicago box but drew a penalty that Marta failed to convert, then waited until the 88th minute to score. Still, a win is a win, and this is a positive result for an Orlando team that will be missing their attacking star Barbra Banda, who is playing in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, for the next few weeks.
12. Bay FC
Previous ranking: 9
Next match: vs. Seattle Reign, Saturday, 8:45 p.m. ET
Bay FC fell to the Dash on the road 1-0. Though Bay managed 18 total shots, with seven of those on frame, they couldn't get this one done. There were six defenders -- plus goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz -- behind the ball and in the 18-yard box on the scoring play. That's one way to snap a three-game unbeaten run.
13. North Carolina Courage
Previous ranking: 10
Next match: vs. Orlando Pride, Friday, 8 p.m. ET
The Courage lost to the Royals 4-1 at home. This was North Carolina's third straight loss and marked their worst loss of the season, but the scoreline doesn't capture the true story of this game. The Courage edged out the Royals on several metrics, including expected goals, total shots, opposition-box touches and duels. In fact, North Carolina managed a little more than eight times the open-play expected goals of the Royals. Still, the Courage conceded all four of their goals on set pieces, which means we know exactly what they'll be working on in training this week.
14. Houston Dash
Previous ranking: 14
Next match: vs. Gotham FC, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
The Houston Dash edged out Bay FC 1-0 at home in a back-and-forth affair. The Dash managed to eke out this win thanks to a Linda Ullmark game-winner in second-half stoppage time. Scoring late in the game isn't unusual for this team, since six of their 19 total goals have come in the 89th minute or later this season. This marked the Dash's first win in four games, but it's only their second victory in 12.
15. Racing Louisville FC
Previous ranking: 16
Next match: vs. Chicago Stars, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET
For the first time in six games, Racing Louisville notched a win. Racing took down Angel City 2-1 on the road thanks to rookie Maja Lardner's first and second career goals. Though this win was enough to bump Racing up in the power rankings, it's worth mentioning that they didn't exactly dominate in this game. They only managed 137 accurate passes -- which was good for 60% of their total -- and conceded a whopping 30 shots. Did Racing get lucky here? Let's see if they can continue their points streak for a third straight week before deciding.
16. Chicago Stars FC
Previous ranking: 15
Next match: at Racing Louisville, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET
The Stars lost 1-0 to the Pride for their third straight shutout loss in as many weeks. Goalkeeper Katie Atkinson was the only reason this scoreline wasn't more lopsided. Atkinson recorded 10 saves, with one of those being a first-half penalty stop on Marta. The abysmal defensive performance was paired with a lackluster offensive showing. Granted, star Mallory Swanson was sidelined with a lower-leg injury for this one, but if recent weeks are any indication, Swanson's presence likely wouldn't have made a difference. This team has failed to score a goal in all 12 of their losses and have notched only one goal on the road all season.