NWSL Power Rankings: Wave eyeing Gotham FC after superb fightback

It's Tuesday, and with another weekend (plus Monday night game) 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 19 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: at Denver Summit, Sunday, 6 p.m. ET (Paramount+) Despite dropping points at home, NJ/NY Gotham FC remain atop these rankings. A 1-1 draw with the Portland Thorns means they are unbeaten in 10 matches -- a new club record. Jaedyn Shaw opened the scoring with an outrageous goal. Opta judged the shot as having a 0.1 xG, and Shaw admitted post-match it was intended as a cross. Gotham FC, though, conceded a penalty in the closing 15 minutes when Jaelin Howell tripped Pietra Tordin in the box. Shaun Harris will conclude his successful stint as interim as head coach Juan Carlos Amoros returns from paternity leave. 2. San Diego Wave FC Previous ranking: 2 Next match: at Seattle Reign, Sunday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2) The San Diego Wave fought back from a two-goal deficit for just the second time in franchise history. Trinity Byars and Kenza Dali led the way in a 3-2 win over Racing Louisville. Byars is in white-hot form and her second-half brace sparked the Wave's comeback. She has recorded four goals and two assists in her last two games. Dali scored the match-winner in dramatic fashion. Both her game-winner and Byars' first goal were mirror images of each other in that they were from similar distances and had identical xG's (0.053). 3. Utah Royals Previous ranking: 4 Next match: vs. Boston Legacy FC, Friday, 9.30 p.m. ET (NWSL+) Utah captured its first win of the season after trailing at half-time with a 2-1 victory away at Orlando. Cloé Lacasse masterminded the comeback win as she scored the equalizer and assisted the match-winner. She is now tied with Tobin Heath and Croix Bethune for the most assists (10) in a single season. She had the upper hand on defender Oihane Hernández and nearly won a penalty kick that was later overturned by VAR. Utah's second-half tactical adjustments paid dividends. 4. Portland Thorns Previous ranking: 3 Next match: vs. Washington Spirit, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (Paramount+) The 1-1 draw with NJ/NY Gotham FC marked the first time Portland picked up points away at Gotham since October 2022, and the Thorns put up a dogged fight against the league leaders. The game turned when Sophia Wilson extended her 100% record (9 from 9) from the penalty spot for the equalizer. Jessie Fleming had a typically influential game in central midfield. The Thorns continue to zero in on a home playoff spot and have collected 11 points from a possible 18. 5. Washington Spirit Previous ranking: 5 Next match: at Portland Thorns, Sunday, 6 p.m. ET (Paramount+) The Spirit averted a fourth straight home loss with a 1-0 win over Bay FC. It was not a vintage performance as the Spirit were outshot and outpossessed, but there were a number of individual performances that shone through. Paige Metayer is the Spirit's Swiss army knife and performed admirably as both a right winger and right-back. She is credited with the game-winning goal, when Trinity Rodman drilled a shot from an acute angle that Metayer guided across the line. Rodman's defensive work rate was exceptional throughout. Melissa Bethi and Monique Ngock each made their NWSL debuts after strong outings at the 2026 CAF WAFCON. Bethi's tidy and technical skill on the ball was evident, while Ngock provided much-needed control in midfield. 6. Seattle Reign FC Previous ranking: 6 Next match: vs. San Diego Wave, Sunday 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2) The Seattle Reign remain afloat above the playoff line with a thorough 1-0 win over the Houston Dash. Maddie Dahlien spoke of the Reign's need to get "more ruthless in the box" during the half-time interview and followed suit. She scored the match-winning goal and had two other big chances which she could not convert. Maddie Mercado notched the assist and now has three goal contributions in her last four games, while outside back Ryanne Brown was an influential presence down the right flank. 7. Kansas City Current Previous ranking: 9 Next match: at Bay FC, Friday, 10 p.m. ET (Prime Video) Bethune showed why she is ESPN's #2 overall player in the NWSL right now. Her extraordinary vision and soccer IQ was on full display in Kansas City's 3-2 win over the North Carolina Courage. The Current were hot off the blocks with a 3-0 lead in the opening 41 minutes. Haley Hopkins shone against her former club and had her first multi-assist game of her career. Temwa Chawinga also made her first league appearance since July 17. However, the Current let the Courage creep back into the game and conceded a penalty kick; from there, Kansas City were able to close it out and extend their unbeaten home record to 28 straight games. 8. North Carolina Courage Previous ranking: 7 Next match: at Chicago Stars, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network) The Courage have played three games in eight days, and it very much showed in the first half against Kansas City. The Courage are also without first-choice center backs Maycee Bell and Natalie Jacobs, and they conceded three goals before registering a shot on target. However, North Carolina (and specifically MVP frontrunner Ashley Sanchez) eventually snapped into life. Evelyn Ijeh scored a Sanchez-assisted goal in first half stoppage time. Riley Jackson entered the game in the 68th minute and converted a penalty kick soon after. The Courage could not finish their late chances, though, and slumped to a 3-2 loss. 9. Denver Summit FC Previous ranking: 10 Next match: vs. Gotham FC, Sunday 2 p.m. ET (Paramount+) The Summit's attack was at its peak in a 6-1 beatdown of the Chicago Stars in the clubs' first ever meeting. Lindsey Heaps was back in the starting XI after dealing with knee swelling and assisted Denver's second goal with a lovely cross. Melissa Kössler and Tash Flint each got back on the scoresheet for the first time since the Spring with emphatic finishes. It was Yuzuki Yamamoto who stole the show, though, in just her third start. She had a goal and assist and facilitated Denver's most threatening attacks with her clever movement. 10. Angel City FC Previous ranking: 8 Next match: at Racing Louisville, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET (Tubi/Peacock) It was a five-star performance for Angel City FC on Monday night, as they claimed their first win in eight games in emphatic fashion. Everything went their way in a dominant 5-2 win over the Boston Legacy. Ally Sentnor opened the goal-fest with a trademark strike from distance. Prisca Chilufya scored her first career brace. Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir and Maiara Nieheus returned from injury lay-offs and hardly skipped a beat, both getting on the scoresheet. Savy King made her first start since April 3. Angel City faced very little defensive resistance from Boston, but took their chances. The performance's only blight was the cheap ways by which they conceded both goals. 11. Bay FC Previous ranking: 12 Next match: vs. Kansas City Current, Friday, 10 p.m. ET (Prime Video) It is the same story, different day for Bay FC. Emma Coates' side defended the Washington Spirit well, had promising moments in attack and made life difficult for the home side. However, their lack of quality in the final third again came back to bite them. Karlie Lema and Alex Pfeiffer each had enticing chances in front of goal that neither could finish. Claire Hutton put in a typically industrious shift in midfield, but the goals never came in a 1-0 loss. 12. Orlando Pride Previous ranking: 11 Next match: vs. Houston Dash, Sunday, 7 p.m. ET (Roku Sports) Orlando failed to build on the momentum from their win away at Washington last week and lost 2-1 at home to Utah. The good news? Barbra Banda scored her first goal since July 10. The bad news? It was Orlando's only shot on target. Orlando is in a double bind in that they are overly reliant on Banda and yet struggle to provide her with service. Their paper-thin squad is an issue and they could not even fill their bench on Saturday. After a spirited start, the Pride faded away entirely in the second half. Will their playoff hopes do the same? 13. Racing Louisville FC Previous ranking: 13 Next match: vs. Angel City FC, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET (Tubi/Peacock) Racing Louisville proved that 2-0 is the most dangerous scoreline in soccer. The visitors surrendered a 2-0 first half lead at the San Diego Wave, conceding three unanswered goals. Racing Louisville were in fine form from mid-July to mid-August. However, three of their four wins in that span came against teams below the playoff line. Their upcoming schedule is less favorable as exactly half of their remaining opponents currently sit in the top half of the table. 14. Houston Dash Previous ranking: 14 Next match: Houston could not capitalize on a golden opportunity to inch closer to the playoff line. They met a 1-0 defeat away at the Seattle Reign and simply never got a grip on the game. The Dash were overrun in midfield. They mustered just 0.17 xG and had seven touches in the opposition box. They also had season-low shots on target (1). The Dash have now lost back-to-back games on the West Coast by a 1-0 scoreline. 15. Boston Legacy FC Previous ranking: 16 Next match: at Utah Royals, Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET (NWSL+) Had it not been for the two goals Boston scored on Monday against Angel City, the Legacy would have spent another week in the bottom of these rankings. The club set a new dubious record in its young tenure conceding a franchise-worst five goals in a 5-2 defeat. Boston's defense remains highly problematic. They have shipped 15 goals in the last four games; the same amount they conceded in the previous 13 games combined. Angel City were able to get in behind Boston's high line with ease. A defensive structural change is needed fast. 16. Chicago Stars FC Previous ranking: 15 Next match: vs. North Carolina Courage, Sunday, 4 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network) The Stars' fate was perhaps sealed pre-game when Mallory Swanson was ruled out with a hip injury. It was a disastrous showing for Chicago, who were pummeled 6-1 away at the Denver Summit. Chicago's defense was disorganized and porous, especially out wide. They allowed 18 shots and could have conceded more than six times. The one bright spot was Julia Grosso's well-engineered movement and goal shortly after subbing in. On the whole, though, Chicago is a mess.