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 across Matchday 18 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. Portland Thorns FC, Friday, 8 p.m. ET
Gotham drew with Angel City 0-0 on the road this weekend. Though Gotham managed to record yet another clean sheet, they couldn't put away their late chances: Guro Reiten had a penalty kick saved in the 86th minute and Sam Kerr hit the woodwork in the 90th in the game's best look. A win would have put the league leaders nine points clear at the top of the standings, which likely made this one feel closer to a loss. Still, Gotham are unbeaten in nine, which is impressive in itself.
2. San Diego Wave FC
Previous ranking: 3
Next match: vs. Racing Louisville FC, Friday, 10 p.m. ET
The San Diego Wave registered a statement win over the Utah Royals, 4-2 at home. It was the Trinity Byars show at Snapdragon Stadium, as she scored two goals and added two assists on the night. Melanie Barcenas and Ludmila added tallies of their own to keep San Diego unbeaten against Utah and avoid a three-game winless streak.
3. Portland Thorns
Previous ranking: 4
Next match: vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, Friday, 8 p.m. ET
The Portland Thorns beat the Denver Summit 1-0 at home. It was Sophia Wilson's 10th goal of the season that won the Thorns all three points. But given it's the fourth time Wilson has managed double-digit goals in a season, the most surprising part of this win was the shutout: it was the first time in seven games that Portland held their opponent scoreless. Regardless, the Thorns are rolling and in the midst of a three-game win streak.
4. Utah Royals
Previous ranking: 2
Next match: vs. Orlando Pride, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
The Utah Royals lost to the San Diego Wave by a 4-2 scoreline on the road. It was Mina Tanaka's brace that kept Utah in the game as they equalized twice before the Wave bagged two unanswered goals in the last 30 minutes. This is the third time in a row the Royals have lost after a previous win, which isn't exactly the pattern a team want to be in heading into the final third of the season.
5. Washington Spirit
Previous ranking: 5
Next match: vs. Bay FC, Sunday, 12.30 p.m. ET
The Washington Spirit fell to the Orlando Pride 1-0 at home, but the scoreline doesn't quite tell the full story. Washington controlled 73% of the game's possession, recorded 51 touches in the opposition box, put up 23 shots, and hit the woodwork three times on the way to the loss. That's the Spirit's third-straight defeat at Audi and they're now winless in three, but they're still in second place, so all's well that ends well, right?
6. Seattle Reign FC
Previous ranking: 6
Next match: vs. Houston Dash, Sunday, 7 p.m. ET
Seattle drew the Kansas City Current 1-1 on the road; their lone goal in the match was scored as an own-goal off a short corner play. Altogether, it was a lackluster performance from the Reign who managed only 0.66 expected goals on eight shots -- with four on target -- after taking just 16 touches in the Kansas City 18-yard box throughout the match. Head coach Laura Harvey described the performance as "passive" and "indecisive defensively," which captures the vibe of a majority of this game for the Reign.
7. North Carolina Courage
Previous ranking: 8
Next match: vs. Kansas City Current, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
The North Carolina Courage beat the Boston Legacy 2-1 at home. It was peak NWSL-After Dark magic in this game that saw these teams trade goals in stoppage time. Ashley Sanchez opened the scoring in the 10th minute and the Courage held on to their lead until they conceded in the seventh minute of stoppage time. But it was a Sanchez penalty kick in the 17th minute of stoppage time -- which went down as the latest goal in league history -- that ultimately stole all three points back for the Courage in this one. Sanchez's two goals also put her atop the league's Golden Boot race and added to her already-solid MVP campaign.
8. Angel City FC
Previous ranking: 7
Next match: vs. North Carolina Courage, Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET
Angel City battled Gotham to a 0-0 draw at home. Despite conceding just over 60% of the possession to Gotham, the Angels still managed 16 shots -- with three on target -- and 26 opposition box touches. Though none of their efforts found the back of the net, this level of production is a positive against the league's best defense. Another positive? That goalkeeper Angelina Anderson saved a penalty late in the game to keep the score level and allow Angel City to come away with a point in this one.
9. Kansas City Current
Previous ranking: 10
Next match: vs. North Carolina Courage, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
The Kansas City Current played the Seattle Reign to a 1-1 draw at home. An unfortunate own-goal had the Current down before Debinha slotted home a penalty just after half time to pull her team level. And in reality, it's likely frustrating for the Current that this game ended in a draw. The Current registered 24 total shots and generated 3.31 expected goals while controlling most of the game's momentum. Still, this leaves them on a four-game winless streak even if they've extended their home unbeaten run to 27 games.
10. Denver Summit FC
Previous ranking: 9
Next match: vs. Chicago Stars FC, Saturday, 8:45 p.m. ET
The Denver Summit lost to the Portland Thorns 1-0 on the road. Despite controlling 63% of the possession -- and most of the game's momentum -- Denver just couldn't find the back of the net. They recorded 27 touches in the Portland 18-yard box and took 12 total shots on their way to generating 1.32 expected goals. Still, they missed Lindsey Heaps in their midfield and Abby Smith in goal, and they're undoubtedly anxious for both to return ahead of a potential playoff push.
11. Orlando Pride
Previous ranking: 13
Next match: vs. Utah Royals FC, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
The Orlando Pride beat the Washington Spirit 1-0 on the road. Haley McCutcheon delivered the eventual game-winning goal in the third minute off a Barbra Banda pass. The Pride spent the remaining 87-plus minutes playing defense and absorbing pressure from the Spirit, considering they controlled less than 30% of the game's possession. Still, a win is a win, and taking down the team in second place is a great way to snap a three-game losing streak.
12. Bay FC
Previous ranking: 14
Next match: vs. Washington Spirit Sunday, 12.30 p.m. ET
Bay FC beat the Houston Dash 1-0 at home; it was Cristiana Girelli's first career NWSL goal that lifted her side to victory. The goal came in the 89th minute, which marked the latest of the season for the Bay. The victory was undoubtedly a welcome sight in San Jose, since it ultimately snapped Bay's five-game winless streak.
13. Racing Louisville FC
Previous ranking: 11
Next match: vs. San Diego Wave FC, Friday, 10 p.m. ET
Racing Louisville fell to the Chicago Stars by a 3-2 scoreline on the road. Despite equalizing twice, a rough defensive lapse in the 83rd minute meant the team came away with no points. Though the loss snapped their four-game win streak, a positive is that this is the fifth straight game that Louisville have scored more than one goal. In fact, Racing's position in the bottom half of the table has little to do with their attacking abilities: they've scored more goals than eight of the 12 teams with better records.
14. Houston Dash
Previous ranking: 12
Next match: vs. Seattle Reign FC, Sunday, 7 p.m. ET
The Houston Dash fell to Bay FC 1-0 on the road. It wasn't for lack of trying, though. The Dash managed 15 shots -- with nine on target -- on their way to generating 1.99 expected goals in this match. They strung together more accurate passes and had more opposition box-touches than the Bay, too. Still, it's impossible to win games when you don't score goals. Maybe the Dash's five goals against Chicago in their midweek match up meant they hit this week's goal quota.
15. Chicago Stars FC
Previous ranking: 16
Next match: vs. Denver Summit FC, Saturday, 8.45 p.m. ET
The Chicago Stars beat Racing Louisville 3-2 at home; a big result for a team coming off their worst loss of the season. Captain Mallory Swanson recorded a goal and an assist, with Jameese Joseph and Julia Grosso adding goals of their own. This is just the third time Chicago have managed to score more than one goal in a single game and their first victory in seven matches. All eyes will be on next week's match to see if the Stars can do it again or if this was merely a fluke.
16. Boston Legacy FC
Previous ranking: 15
Next match: vs. Angel City FC, Monday, 8 p.m. ET
The Boston Legacy lost to the North Carolina Courage 2-1 on the road. Aïssata Traoré's stoppage-time equalizer was erased by a Bianca St-Georges foul in the box that ultimately awarded the Courage their go-ahead penalty kick. Boston are now winless in four, on a three-game losing streak, and eight points out of a playoff spot.