Mar 31, 2026, 03:24 AM ET
It's Tuesday, 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 3 to come up with this week's order of all 16 teams in the league. Let's dive in.
1. Portland Thorns
Previous ranking: 1
Next match: Saturday at North Carolina Courage, 6:30 p.m. ET
There's no better way to chase a disappointing midweek loss than with a dominant weekend win. In a 2-0 victory on Saturday that featured Sophia Wilson making her first start since returning from maternity leave, Portland wildly outplayed Kansas City. Wilson didn't end up on the scoresheet, but she was consistently dangerous on both sides of the ball and won a penalty that led to the Thorns' first goal. This team looks like the real deal.
2. Angel City FC
Previous ranking: 2
Next match: Friday at Orlando Pride, 8 p.m. ET
Make that three wins in three games for Angel City. While they didn't come out flying against the Dash on Friday, Angel City recovered from a sluggish start by scoring a pair of goals just minutes into the second half en route to securing a 2-1 victory. Now with three goals on the year, it was striker Sveindís Jónsdóttir who scored the eventual game-winner -- the 24-year-old is flying in her first full NWSL campaign. While Angel City's schedule is about to get tougher, they've taken care of business admirably thus far.
3. San Diego Wave FC
Previous ranking: 12
Next match: Friday at Boston Legacy, 7 p.m. ET
Wins don't get much more one-sided than San Diego's 2-0 victory over Chicago on Saturday. The Wave allowed just two shots -- and neither came from inside the box. San Diego's near-perfect control of the match was capped off by a wonderful strike from teenage substitute Melanie Barcenas. Now on a three-game winning streak and with Catarina Macario aboard, there are plenty of reasons to feel good about San Diego.
4. Seattle Reign FC
Previous ranking: 7
Next match: Saturday vs. Denver Summit, 8:45 p.m. ET
Entering 2026, there was one question about Seattle that stood head-and-shoulders above the rest: would they, a team without a truckload of attacking talent, really be able to score goals? With five goals in their last two outings, the early signs point towards yes. Of course, it helps when the opposing goalkeeper spots you one, as Louisville's Jordyn Bloomer did on Saturday in Seattle's 2-1 win. Still, Seattle's attack showed real signs of life later in the first half when some clever possession play created Nérilia Mondésir's strike. Victories keep coming for the Reign.
5. Bay FC
Previous ranking: 8
Next match: Sunday vs. Washington Spirit, 5 p.m. ET (stream live on ESPN)
One of the biggest stories of this young NWSL season is the performance of teenager Alex Pfeiffer on the wing for Bay FC. It was the 18-year-old's strike that launched a 3-1 victory for Bay over North Carolina on Saturday. The winger, who also collected an assist later in the match, has four non-penalty goal contributions in three games and has been a genuine breakout star in every sense to begin 2026. There's more to come from Pfeiffer and Bay.
6. Houston Dash
Previous ranking: 4
Next match: Friday vs. Racing Louisville, 8:30 p.m. ET
While the Dash fell 2-1 on the road to Angel City on Friday, the early signs were promising for Fabrice Gautrat's team with Houston outshooting hosts nine to two in the first half. Star right back Avery Patterson even broke the game open with lovely service from the right wing that ended with Maggie Graham scoring the opening goal. Patterson's performance on the right truly was eye-catching, even if the Dash slowed to a jog to start the second half and conceded two goals to go home pointless.
7. Orlando Pride
Previous ranking: 14
Next match: Friday vs. Angel City, 8 p.m. ET
As expected, Orlando didn't control the ball for long stretches against Gotham on Sunday. Instead, they eagerly waited for ill-timed turnovers before leaping the other way. But Barbra Banda, the tip of the Pride's counter attacking spear, was kept quiet in a 0-0 draw on Sunday. Banda's lack of attacking impact served as a microcosm of the game itself, where neither team managed to successfully break down the other. Still, a road draw at Sports Illustrated Stadium is a strong result for Orlando.
8. NJ/NY Gotham FC
Previous ranking: 3
Next match: Saturday at Kansas City Current, 4 p.m. ET
The warning signs continue to shine down on Gotham's attack following a 0-0 draw with the Pride on Sunday. Juan Carlos Amorós' team has scored just one goal all season -- and that goal came in Boston Legacy's first game. Against Orlando, NJ/NY had precious little going for them in the attack and ended the match with less than a single expected goal for the third time in their first four games. It's back to the drawing board for Amorós.
9. North Carolina Courage
Previous ranking: 5
Next match: Saturday vs. Portland Thorns, 6:30 p.m. ET
One of the growing pains that possession-heavy teams go through is losing the ball in bad spots, suffering without many numbers to defend in their own half, and giving up goals. That's exactly what happened to the Courage on Saturday in their 3-1 loss to Bay FC. Still learning the finer points of new head coach Mak Lind's possession-heavy system, turnovers cost North Carolina. After conceding three goals in the first half, the game quickly grew out of reach for a Courage team that's under construction.
10. Denver Summit FC
Previous ranking: 11
Next match: Saturday at Seattle Reign, 8:45 p.m. ET
The on-field action at Mile High Stadium was always going to take a back seat to a record being set in the stands. With the 63,004 announced fans shattering the NWSL's attendance record, Denver Summit's first home game raised the bar on what seems possible for women's soccer in the United States. That Denver couldn't quite sneak all three points against Washington stings a bit, but even collecting a point in a 0-0 draw with the Spirit is a valuable result. In all, Saturday was a great day for Denver.
11. Washington Spirit
Previous ranking: 9
Next match: Sunday at Bay FC, 5 p.m. ET (stream live on ESPN)
Raise your hand if you expected the Washington Spirit to be winless through their first four games of the season? Nobody? Alright then. Following a 0-0 draw with Denver Summit that made more headlines for the folks in the seats than the ones on the field, the Spirit are yet to collect a victory in 2026. The attack continues to look out of sync, to the point where Washington generated just two shots from inside the 18 against Denver. There's too much talent in this Spirit squad for the attack not to gel eventually ... right?
12. Racing Louisville FC
Previous ranking: 10
Next match: Friday at Houston Dash, 8:30 p.m. ET
Racing Louisville simply aren't built to recover from handing their opponents a free goal. That's exactly what goalkeeper Bloomer did in Louisville's 2-1 loss to Seattle on Saturday when the ball slipped through her hands and between her legs on a routine save that turned into a 1-0 deficit. While they put up a fight late in the match, Racing never truly found a way back into the game and find themselves winless through their first three games of 2026.
13. Kansas City Current
Previous ranking: 6
Next match: Saturday vs. Gothan FC, 4 p.m. ET
You'd have to imagine Kansas City are taking a long, hard look in the mirror right about now. After an opening weekend victory over Utah, the Current have now dropped three straight to Chicago, Seattle, and, most recently, Portland. Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Thorns was about as one-sided of a game as they come. Rarely could Kansas City build or find control in possession and they were non-threatening in transition. Toss in a defensive miscue for Portland's game-sealing goal and you had a day to forget. Temwa Chawinga can't return quickly enough.
14. Utah Royals
Previous ranking: 15
Next match: Friday vs. Chicago Stars, 9 p.m. ET
Utah didn't play the prettiest game on Saturday in New England, but they managed to avoid having their name written in the history books next to "Boston Legacy's first-ever win." The Royals managed a 2-1 victory, courtesy of two goals that began on dead balls -- the first was a clever set piece routine and the second a penalty. Outside of those goals, Utah managed just four non-penalty shots from inside Boston's box on the day. That the Royals have their first win of the season is a positive, but there's work to be done yet.
15. Boston Legacy FC
Previous ranking: 16
Next match: Friday vs. San Diego Wave, 7 p.m. ET
The good news for Boston? They scored their first goal in club history on Saturday, courtesy of Aissata Traore. The striker, who was a constant thorn in Utah's side, capped off a direct sequence after getting on the end of a clever through-ball from Amanda Gutierres to half the deficit in Legacy's clash with the Utah Royals. The bad news for Boston? They couldn't find another goal to claim their first-ever point, instead falling 2-1 at Gillette Stadium. The expansion team's hunt for a result continues.
16. Chicago Stars FC
Previous ranking: 13
Next match: Friday at Utah Royals, 9 p.m. ET
It's not too early to worry about the Chicago Stars, who have been held scoreless in three of their four games this season. Chicago only found a way to post two shots in their 2-0 loss to San Diego on Saturday and couldn't even put forward a shot from inside the box before the final whistle. With Jameese Joseph continuing to be shunted out wide and, frankly, a lack of skill elsewhere on the field, it's hard to picture how Chicago's season rests on anything other than Mallory Swanson playing the hero on her yet-unknown return date.
