It's Monday, and there's another week of NWSL action in the book, which means it's time for ESPN's power rankings.
Who is climbing the table? Who is free in autumn? Our writers looked at the action in Game 9 to present orders from all 14 teams in the league this week. Let's dive.
Previous rankings: 1
Next game: Saturday, May 24, 7:30 PM ET vs. Chicago Stars
In a fight between a pair of heavy hitters, Kansas City Electric headed to Orlando and beat Pride 1-0 on Friday. It's a target - you guessed it - Temwa Chawinga was tilted in Kansas City and showed what made the attacker so dangerous: her bubbling speed. After a half into Orlando and a stumble from center Kylie Nadaner, Chawinga sprinted in and ended the visitor. If you make a mistake with Chawinga and Current, you may be punished.
Previous rankings: 2
Next game: Friday, May 23, 9:30 PM ET vs. Utah Royals
Pride didn’t play a bad game against Kansas City on Friday. From the opening whistle, they attacked the free throw box that hoped to take advantage of Barbra Banda. However, the second half defensive mischief gave Kansas City a huge opportunity to put Pride in a 1-0 deficit that they never reversed. Although they have only one win in their last five games and have some concerns about Orlando’s ability to break deeper defensive abilities, it’s not the time to give a wake-up call for pride. Even if not the best, they continue to trend.
Previous rankings: 4
Next game: Sunday, May 25, 10 pm ET
After leading NJ/NY Gotham FC 1-0 on Friday, the San Diego Wave is now unbeaten in five straight wins - four wins in those five games. Despite playing at home at Sports Illustrated Stadium, San Diego took advantage of control of the ball. Even considering teenager Kimmi Ascanio's 30th minute goal, this could prompt a more retention of defensive posture in the last 60 minutes, a wave that took up 62% of the property on the day. As a result, Gotham can hardly find any appearance. Life is good for waves.
Previous rankings: 3
Next game: Saturday, June 7, 1:00 PM ET KC Current
Gotham's offensive issues continued with a 1-0 loss to the San Diego Waves on Friday. Now, it's a three-game winning streak, and Juan Carlos Amorós's team didn't score goals, who completed the 255 season of passes while hosting Santiago. According to FBREF, NY Gotham failed to pose any consistent threat to San Diego in the 4-3-3 setting, according to FBREF, the second lowest game in any regular season. There is a lot of work to be done in the attack.
Previous rankings: 5
Next game: Saturday, June 7, 7:30 PM ET
Pietra Tordin didn’t waste her chances, her first start at Portland Thorns. The 21-year-old attacker started the high point in a thorns game on Friday against Houston’s dash and scored on the 4-1 road in Thorns. After Tordin's expert finisher took the lead in the first half, Portland did not slow down: they scored two more goals before the break, less than 10 minutes after the half. According to FBREF, Portland has improved the third-highest non-racing XG Tally every 90 minutes in the NWSL, and they are a team to worry about. Rob Gale's team now has a CONCACAF W Champions League match against Tigres Uanl on Wednesday, meaning their next league match until June 7.
Previous rankings: 6
Next game: Friday, May 23, domination with Seattle at 10 pm ET
The offensive quality of the Holy Spirit is on display on Saturday. In the game against the Utah Royals, Washington shot a stunning 29 shots on the way to the 3-3 draw. Although the clever right-side interaction between Croix Bethune, Ashley Hatch and Rosemonde Kouassi caused a lot of trouble for Utah, the spirit needed a 102-minute equalizer from Casey Krueger to rescue a point in front of their home cluster. Defend the extinguishing of the sloppy box in Washington, they will miss the chance to win.
Previous rankings: 8
Next game: Friday, May 23, 10 pm ET with Washington Spirit
Named better duo than "Seattle Domination" and "Game Determined by One Goal." Seven of Seattle's nine NWSL games this year were determined by just one goal - the other two were tied - with only two games reaching the two-goal mark. So it's not surprising to see Domination win the game 1-0 against Racing Louisville on Saturday. Laura Harvey's team shot just four shots, Louisville's 20 points, but still managed to escape Kentucky with three points. At this point, this kind of victory is the old hat of Seattle.
Previous rankings: 10
Next game: Sunday, May 25, against the San Diego Waves, 10 pm ET
North Carolina’s courage is in a serious shift. Before he won, North Carolina found itself in tears of unbeaten. This week, they beat Chicago's strong star 2-0. In Denise O'Sullivan driving the ball out of the midfield, Jaedyn Shaw, Ashley Sanchez and Manaka Matsukubo, they scored on the offense, and North Carolina threw more in Chicago than their opponents could afford.
Previous rankings: 7
Next game: Saturday, May 24, 10 pm ET with racing
With Christen Press returning to the starting lineup for the first time in 2025, Angel City is looking to make a sharp attack on Bay FC on Saturday. Instead, they strive to generate consistent opportunities and lose 2-0 on the road. Still, it may not be surprising that Angel City has struggled to find its foothold in a few days after the last time Savy King last played against Utah’s medical emergency.
Previous rankings: 9
Next game: Saturday, May 24, 10 pm ET with Angel City
Racing Louisville will be impossible to recall their 1-0 loss to Seattle dominance on Saturday, a missed opportunity. Despite Louisville shooting five times, Louisville has only put in one effort but never managed to find Claudia Dickey's net. The team that ended with another season-ending season was behind at the end of the playoff season, as disappointing home defeat as Louisville suffered this weekend, is back.
Previous rankings: 12
Next game: Saturday, May 24, Dash Houston
Returning to the victory column for the first time in nearly a month, Bay FC beat Angel City 2-0 on Saturday. Two first-half goals, one by performing a well-executed transitional attack, and one by a goal from free throw hits, putting visitors in the driver's seat early and allowing Bay to control the remaining process of the game. Crucially, Bay has one of the best defensive performances in 2025 after failing to face back tensions against Kansas City and San Diego in the past two weeks.
Previous rankings: 11
Next game: Saturday, May 24, 5pm ET, Bay Football Club
FBREF said the poor goalkeeper in the goalkeeper plagued Houston's dash. They allowed two goals expected this season. Abby Smith struggled between outposts in a 4-1 loss to Portland Thorns on Friday. Between her slow reaction and a back setting that cuts too much space, the dash can't keep up with the visitors.
Previous rankings: 14
Next game: Friday, May 23, with Orlando Pride, 9:30 PM ET
Mandy McGlynn, bow. The shooter continued her 2025 strong 2025 Utah Royals campaign, playing 3-3 with the Washington Spirit. As her outfield teammates admitted nearly 30 shots, McGlin needed to shine online—she did. Her free throws against Hatch seemed to be working hard to help Utah win, but the defensive situation was not concentrated during parking time, turning the three-pointer into a point for visitors.
Previous rankings: 13
Next game: Saturday, May 24, 7:30 PM ET
The Chicago star's brutal season continued to lose 2-0 to North Carolina on Saturday. Although Ludmila had a lot of dangerous runs behind North Carolina’s guard, the stars failed to make it to the scoring table. Even with interim head coach Masaki Hemmi's setting is very narrow, Chicago can't contain the center of courage overload and has only one win this season.