EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIt'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 15 to come up with this week's order of all 16 teams in the league. Let's dive in.1. Utah RoyalsPrevious ranking: 3Next match: at Denver Summit, Saturday, 4 p.m. ETThe Royals steamrolled Portland 5-1 at home. Despite conceding a goal just seconds after the first half kicked off, Utah scored five unanswered, with four of those coming in the second half. Cece Delzer's brace led the way, with Kiana Palacios, Brecken Mozingo and Kate Del Fava adding goals of their own. With this win, the Royals have scored 13 goals in their past six matches. There's just no doubt that Utah is the real deal this year.2. NJ/NY Gotham FCPrevious ranking: 2Next match: vs. San Diego Wave, Friday, 8 p.m. ETGotham beat Houston by a 1-0 margin on the road. The storyline from this match centers around superstar Sam Kerr, who missed a first-half penalty before redeeming herself just seconds into the second half. Kerr redirected a Guro Reiten cross to put her side ahead. Gotham held onto the lead to the final whistle, notching their league-leading 11th shutout. Goalkeeper Shelby Hogan, stepping in for the usual No. 1 Ann-Katrin Berger, made six saves in the win. Capping off a three-game road trip with a win is great, but going unbeaten in six while dropping just two points in that stretch is next level.3. San Diego Wave FCPrevious ranking: 4Next match: at Gotham FC, Friday, 8 p.m. ETSan Diego beat Washington on the road by a 1-0 scoreline. The Wave controlled much of the momentum in this match despite splitting possession with the home side evenly. They notched 21 opposition-box touches on their way to putting up 15 shots, all of which combined for a measly 0.84 expected goals. Still, San Diego only needed one score to pull ahead from the Spirit. It came after the Wave took advantage of a rough Washington turnover in the center of the park. Trinity Byars collected the ball shortly after subbing in and played a ball into Lia Godfrey, who put the Wave on top with her fifth goal of the season.4. Washington SpiritPrevious ranking: 1Next match: at Utah Royals, Wednesday, 9 p.m. ETWashington fell to San Diego 1-0 at home. This was the Spirit's fourth loss of the season and their second to San Diego. The hosts never managed to settle into this match and failed to generate much by way of the attack. In fact, it looked very much as if this team had played seven games in their past 30 days. A full week of rest will undoubtedly help the Spirit reset after a very long month.5. Kansas City CurrentPrevious ranking: 6Next match: at Houston Dash, Saturday, 8:45 p.m. ETKansas City split points with Angel City in a gritty 1-1 draw at home. Haley Hopkins scored a first-half equalizer off an Izzy Rodriguez assist, ultimately extending the Current's home unbeaten record to 26 games. After managing this draw, KC have recovered the most points from a losing position of all teams in the NWSL (11). It's a solid result for a side that's still missing some of their key attacking star power, with Temwa Chawinga away at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations and Michelle Cooper sidelined with injury.6. Angel City FCPrevious ranking: 7Next match: at Seattle Reign, Sunday, 9 p.m. ET (stream live on ESPN)Angel City drew Kansas City 1-1 on the road. This was a fair result from a team bouncing back from last week's loss to a struggling Louisville side. Rookie Taylor Suarez's first-ever NWSL goal put the visitors on top in a game where she took the joint-most shots of all players. Plus, goalkeeper Angelina Anderson's six saves ultimately kept the Angels level. But Angel City fans will be holding their breath in the wake of this draw, with the team's joint-leading goal scorer Sveinds Jnsdttir exiting the match due to injury in the 90th minute.7. Portland ThornsPrevious ranking: 5Next match: at Boston Legacy, Sunday, 4 p.m. ETThe Thorns lost 5-1 to Utah on the road. With this result, Portland are now winless in their past four, having conceded 11 goals in that stretch. At this point, it's clear that Thorns head coach Robert Vilahamn & Co. need a better defensive game plan -- or should I say need a defensive game plan.8. Seattle Reign FCPrevious ranking: 10Next match: vs. Angel City, Sunday, 9 p.m. ET (stream live on ESPN)Seattle came away with a 3-2 win against Bay FC on the road. Although the Reign's two early goals -- one of which was Mia Fishel's first ever in the league in the run of play -- made it seem like they'd dominate this game, that was far from the case. Seattle conceded shortly after their second goal, and a controversial VAR-overturned Bay goal kept them alive in the first half before the score was leveled in the 75th. Still, Reign legend Jess Fishlock scored a minute after subbing on in her first appearance back from an early-season injury to deliver her team their first-ever win against Bay FC.9. Denver Summit FCPrevious ranking: 8Next match: vs. North Carolina Courage, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ETThe Summit battled Boston to a 1-1 draw at home to close out the weekend. Although the possession battle was evenly split, Denver controlled much of the match, forcing the Legacy's Casey Murphy to make six saves to keep the Summit off the board. It was a Janine Sonis penalty -- her fourth straight from the spot -- that ultimately pulled Denver level. This isn't the first time Denver outplayed their opponents and dropped points this season.10. Boston Legacy FCPrevious ranking: 9Next match:vs. Portland Thorns, Sunday, 4 p.m. ETThe Legacy drew Denver 1-1 on the road. It was a Casey Murphy assist that set up the visitors' lone goal in this one, which marks just the fourth goalkeeper assist in NWSL history. The flukey goal happened as Boston was conceding most of the momentum to the Summit, with Murphy's distribution clearing nearly every player on the pitch and setting up Sammy Smith for a clear run at goal. In typical Boston fashion, though, a questionable foul led to a penalty kick concession, which ultimately forced the Legacy to leave points on the table in this one. 11. North Carolina CouragePrevious ranking: 13Next match: at Denver Summit, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ETNorth Carolina steamrolled Orlando, winning by a 5-0 scoreline in front of their home crowd. That's one way for the Courage to snap a three-game losing streak that saw them outscored 9-1. This statement win was powered by Lauryn Thompson's first professional goal, Evelyn Ijeh's first career NWSL hat trick and Ashley Sanchez's 10th score of the season. This also marked the league's most lopsided win of the year, and it's not particularly close.12. Bay FCPrevious ranking: 12Next match:at Chicago Stars, Sunday, 7 p.m. ETBay FC lost 3-2 to Seattle at home. Despite the loss, there were a couple of positives here for Bay. A Hannah Bebar stunner from outside the box and Keira Barry's first goal at home ultimately erased the Reign's two-goal lead. Still, Bay's slow start -- paired with a VAR-overturned first-half equalizer -- ultimately sealed their fate. This team is now on a three-game losing streak after dropping their third result in eight days.13. Orlando PridePrevious ranking: 11Next match: vs. Racing Louisville, Friday, 7 p.m. ETThe Pride suffered the season's biggest loss over the weekend, losing to North Carolina 5-0 on the road. There's not much to say about this disastrous showing from Orlando. When an attack manages just two shots on frame and a backline is absolutely leaking goals, a blowout loss seems inevitable.14. Racing Louisville FCPrevious ranking: 15Next match:at Orlando Pride, Friday, 7 p.m. ETRacing beat Chicago 2-1 at home. Their second win in three games, it was a welcome result for a Louisville side coming off a brutal 5-1 midweek loss at the hands of Kansas City. Mirann Gacioch opened the scoring -- and her NWSL ledger -- in the 56th minute before Kayla Fischer doubled her team's lead just six minutes later off an Emma Sears assist. Although it's hard to put much stock into beating the team that has continually battled for the bottom spot in the standings, it's worth mentioning that Racing have collected the same number of points in their past four outings (7) as they did through the season's first 13 games, according to Opta.15. Houston DashPrevious ranking: 14Next match: vs. Kansas City Current, Saturday, 8:45 p.m. ETThe Dash fell to Gotham 1-0 at home. Despite surrendering 60% possession, Houston put on a defensive clinic, registering a staggering 16 interceptions, 15 tackles and 38 won duels. And on the other side of the pitch, rookie Kat Rader was a bright spot in the attack, as she has been all season. The Dash managed to put up 12 shots -- with seven on target -- against the visitors, but it wasn't enough in this one. 16. Chicago Stars FCPrevious ranking: 16Next match: vs. Bay FC, Sunday, 7 p.m. ETChicago lost 2-1 to Louisville on the road. This was their fourth straight loss, but the Stars avoided their fourth straight shutout thanks to a flash of individual brilliance from Ndia Gomes in the 80th minute. This result actually marked the first loss in which the Stars managed to find the back of the net all season, which is especially shocking considering the Chicago attack mustered a measly 0.30 expected goals on six shots in this match.
