It's Monday and the 2026 NWSL regular season is well underway, which means 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 8 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: vs. Seattle Reign, May 30, 6:30 p.m. ET
Sometimes, a game's scoreline doesn't tell the whole story: the Spirit top this week's rankings despite a 2-1 loss at the hands of San Diego. Although Washington came away with zero points, it was dominant for long stretches of this top-of-the-table clash. It held nearly 60% of the possession and stifled the Wave attack effectively. There was even a 30-plus-minute stretch in the second half where San Diego failed to register a single shot. All eyes will be on the Spirit to see how they bounce back next week after suffering their first loss since Week 1.
2. San Diego Wave FC
Previous ranking: 1
Next match: at Houston Dash, Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET
San Diego slips in the rankings despite beating Washington by a 2-1 scoreline. Trinity Byars' first goal of the season was a stunner and put the Wave on the board first, after just six minutes of play. After that, though, the tide turned in favor of the Spirit, who actually dominated for most of the match. Still, San Diego managed to come away with all three points when Kimmi Ascanio bagged her first goal of the season off a set piece in the 89th minute. The Wave are now 6-0 this season when they score first.
3. NJ/NY Gotham FC
Previous ranking: 4
Next match: vs. Houston Dash, May 31, 3 p.m. ET (stream live on ESPN+)
Gotham beat Seattle by a 2-0 scoreline on the road. Similarly to last week, Gotham retained much of the momentum -- and possession -- in this match. Jaedyn Shaw netted the eventual winner after Gotham played around the Reign backline in their own 18-yard box, receiving a ball with her back to goal before slotting it past goalkeeper Claudia Dickey for her fourth goal of the season. NJ/NY's second goal came off a set piece, with defender Tierna Davidson netting her first NWSL goal since 2019. That's five unique goal scorers on the season for a Gotham side that struggled to score at the start of the year.
4. Utah Royals
Previous ranking: 5
Next match: vs. Denver Summit, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
Utah beat Louisville 2-1 in the last match of the weekend. Despite absolutely dominating Racing in the run of play and holding more than 60% of the possession, the Royals didn't put themselves on the score sheet until the 77th minute. Utah's first goal in this match was a Louisville own goal in the 21st, even though the Royals managed double-digit shots in the first frame. The eventual game winner was a true work of art, with Cece Delzer driving toward the end line and taking players on before pinging a pass through traffic into the path of Mina Tanaka, who blasted a one-touch finish into the back of the net. With this result, Utah hasn't lost in a league-leading eight matches.
5. Portland Thorns
Previous ranking: 3
Next match: vs. Bay FC, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET
Portland drew Angel City 0-0 at home in the weekend's only scoreless draw. Midfielder Olivia Moultrie, the anchor of the Thorns' attack, was unavailable for this match due to a calf injury, and her absence was definitely felt. Portland's attack generated just 0.98 expected goals (xG) on its way to registering a single shot on target. Two key players -- Isabella Obaze and M.A. Vignola -- were forced to leave the match in the second half due to injury, too, which could be bad news for Portland in the last stretch of games before the World Cup break.
6. Denver Summit FC
Previous ranking: 8
Next match: at Utah Royals, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
Denver continues its climb up the rankings after beating Orlando 3-1 and securing its first-ever win at home. That's now the Summit's fourth straight multigoal game and the first time they've notched back-to-back wins this season. While Eva Gaetino's first career goal got Denver on the board initially, the win was largely due to hometown hero Janine Sonis' heroics. She bagged a penalty kick in the 53rd minute and snuffed out any inkling of a Pride comeback with an insurance goal seconds after Orlando pulled one back midway through the second half. Sonis has directly contributed to 33% of all the goals the Summit have scored so far this season.
7. Bay FC
Previous ranking: 7
Next match: at Portland Thorns, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET
Bay FC battled to a 1-1 draw at home against Boston. The Bay controlled most of the game, especially in the attack. They managed to generate a high volume of attacking sequences, clocking 17 passes into the opposition box and registering 15 shots on target despite having only one goal to show for it. A controversial foul called against goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz in the 63rd minute awarded the Legacy a penalty kick that ultimately became the equalizer (and the reason Bay dropped points in this one). Still, they haven't lost in three straight games and seem to be trending in the right direction.
Watch the Game Highlights from Bay FC vs. Boston Legacy FC, 05/16/2026
8. Kansas City Current
Previous ranking: 11
Next match: at Angel City, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET
The Current held Houston scoreless on the way to a dominant 3-0 win at home. It was the Temwa Chawinga show, yet again, as she registered her second multigoal game in a row. Fellow attackers Michelle Cooper and Croix Bethune were also outstanding in this one, both showing flashes of on-ball brilliance during counterattacking sequences that the Dash had no chances of stopping. That's three straight wins for Kansas City, who seems to have moved past its slow start to 2026.
9. Angel City FC
Previous ranking: 9
Next match: vs. Kansas City Current, Wednesday, 10 p.m. ET
Angel City battled to a 0-0 draw against Portland. In a match where neither team truly found their strides, the Angels managed to put on a strong defensive showing. Sarah Gorden led the way for Angel City with 11 defensive contributions and helped her side snap their four-game skid. Angel City earned their first point in five matches despite never finding the back of the net in this one, so that's a positive.
10. Seattle Reign FC
Previous ranking: 6
Next match: at Boston Legacy, Friday, 8 p.m. ET
Seattle lost 2-0 to Gotham at home on Friday night. That's five straight games without a win for the Reign, which is unsurprising when one remembers they've failed to find the back of the net in any of those matches. Head coach Laura Harvey said it best in the postgame news conference: "Defensively, we can match anybody on a given day ... but you're not [going to] win games if you don't score goals." Agreed, Harvey.
11. North Carolina Courage
Previous ranking: 15
Next match: at Racing Louisville, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
North Carolina bump up the rankings after a dominant 4-0 win against Chicago. Although it took a little while for the Courage to settle into this match, they truly came alive in the second half, scoring all four of their goals in the second period. Evelyn Ijeh and Ally Schlegel contributed their first goals for North Carolina, and Ashley Sanchez also found the back of the net, scoring her career-high sixth goal of the season. Despite those highlights, Manaka Matsukubo owned the goal of the night. She lost her defender thanks to a swift cut-back to her left foot before bending the ball through traffic and into the back of the net en route to scoring the Courage's fourth goal. North Carolina evidently saved the best for last on Saturday.
Watch the Game Highlights from North Carolina Courage vs. Chicago Stars, 05/17/2026
12. Boston Legacy FC
Previous ranking: 14
Next match: vs. Seattle Reign, Friday, 8 p.m. ET
Boston eked out a point after a 1-1 draw with Bay FC thanks to an Amanda Gutierres penalty. Despite allowing their opponents to score in all 10 of the matches they've played this season, the Legacy continue to find a way to avoid losing. They're now unbeaten in five, which is especially impressive considering they played with 10 for a majority of this match after Bianca St. Georges was shown her second red card of the season just before the break. That might not be surprising, given that this Boston side leads the league in fouls and yellow cards.
13. Orlando Pride
Previous ranking: 10
Next match: at San Diego Wave, Sunday, 7 p.m. ET
Orlando slips in the rankings after losing to Denver by a 3-1 scoreline on the road. The one goal the Pride managed in this one was thanks to none other than Barbra Banda, who notched her league-leading ninth goal of the season over the weekend. Despite extending her lead for the Golden Boot, Banda and the rest of the Pride attack were largely stifled in this one. Given the same sample of shots simulated 1,000 times, the Pride recorded a measly 0.19 expected points in this game. That's ranked in the bottom five of all teams across all games in 2026 (according to American Soccer Analysis).
14. Racing Louisville FC
Previous ranking: 13
Next match: vs. North Carolina Courage, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
Louisville lost to Utah 2-1 on the road. The visitors struggled to find their foothold in this match and managed just over 30% of the possession en route to generating 0.66 xG. Racing conceded much of the match's momentum to the Royals and were held to just eight shots with just two on target while allowing Utah to take 17 of their own. Still, Racing snapped the Royals' five-game shutout streak thanks to a Kayla Fischer stunner from distance midway through the second half.
15. Houston Dash
Previous ranking: 12
Next match: vs. San Diego Wave, Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET
Houston was blanked on the road and conceded three goals to Kansas City en route to its third straight loss. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell had a rough night, as did the entire Dash backline. This team is winless in five and has conceded a whopping nine goals in their past three games. To make matters worse, Houston has only scored a single goal in that five-game stretch. Put simply, it needs to figure out a way to stop bleeding goals if it wants to stop its skid down the standings (and our rankings).
16. Chicago Stars FC
Previous ranking: 16
Next match: at Bay FC, Sunday, 5 p.m. ET (stream live on ESPN)
Chicago was trounced 4-0 on the road against North Carolina. That's its eighth loss of the season and third straight multigoal loss. Veteran goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher exited this match early on due to injury, which surely didn't help Chicago's defensive woes. Still, it's hard to say whether the Stars' attacking or defending is worse: they've been shut out in every game they've lost this season. Not even Mallory Swanson, who returned to the field for the first time this season over the weekend, will be able to save this team.
