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NWSL Power Rankings: San Diego on Top As Winning Streak Continues in Week 5

A fifth straight win has the Southern Californian side as the team to beat in the early stages of the season.
Theo Lloyd-Hughes
The San Diego Wave are atop the NWSL standings thanks to a five-game win streak.
The San Diego Wave are atop the NWSL standings thanks to a five-game win streak. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

After a lengthy three-week international break, the National Women’s Soccer League returned emphatically for Matchweek 5 with eight matches, 26 goals and zero draws.

Only one team, the Boston Legacy, remains winless after Racing Louisville picked up their first win of the season by knocking off the Orlando Pride on Friday night. Meanwhile, the San Diego Wave stacked a fifth straight win to keep pace at the top. Here are the rankings after Matchweek 5.

NWSL Matchweek 5 Results

Racing Louisville 3–2 Orlando Pride
Washington Spirit 4–0 KC Current
Houston Dash 0–1 NC Courage
NJ/NY Gotham FC 3–0 Bay FC
Chicago Stars 2–0 Boston Legacy
Denver Summit 2–3 San Diego Wave
Angel City 1–2 Portland Thorns
Seattle Reign 0–3 Utah Royals

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NWSL Power Rankings: Clubs 11–16

16. Boston Legacy (Previous: 16)
15. Chicago Stars (Previous: 15)
14. Bay FC (Previous: 11)
13. Racing Louisville (Previous: 13)
12. Seattle Reign (Previous: 7)
11. KC Current (Previous: 8)

10. Utah Royals (Previous: 14)

It is now three wins on the spin, four undefeated, for the Utah Royals. Going on the road and winning in the NWSL is never easy, but going 3–0 up by halftime at Lumen Field was extra impressive. There’s a lot to like about how Utah’s front four of Kiana Palacios, Mina Tanaka, Cloé Lacasse and Paige Cronin are all collaborating on and off the ball. And that’s without starting forward Lara Prašnikar, who missed last weekend with a thigh injury. The Royals are also in the top three in the NWSL standings for the first time since 2019.

9. Denver Summit (Previous: 10)

Throwing away a 2–0 halftime lead to contrive to lose 3–2 is never good. There’s no way to sugarcoat it. But, taking a more zoomed-out approach, there’s still a lot to like about the Denver Summit right now. This past weekend was the first time Denver has conceded more than one goal since the opening day of the season. A Carson Pickett own goal isn’t going to happen every week, and neither is a team scoring three times from eight shots and 0.93 expected goals. For now, the Summit feel stable and unlucky.

8. NC Courage (Previous: 12)

New manager Mak Lind is enjoying his start to life in the NWSL with the Courage, looking organized and competitive to start 2026. He’s rejuvenated Ashley Sanchez into looking like a U.S. women’s national team player again, and the return of Manaka Matsukubo has elevated this team significantly. Matsukubo has two goals and an assist in the three games since returning from winning the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup with Japan.

7. Houston Dash (Previous: 6)

The Houston Dash are really looking like the NWSL’s tricky middle team early on in the season. They’re 3-2-0 on the season, and all but one game has been decided by one-goal margins. Manager Fabrice Gautrat has his team seriously well set up off the ball, and the pressing shapes from Houston are some of the best in the league. A stronger center forward on the ball could take the team to the next level.

6. Gotham FC (Previous: 9)

When it rains, it pours in New Jersey. After just two goals scored through the first five matches, Gotham went and smashed three in one half against Bay FC over the weekend. This was a huge relief for the previously goal-shy team. Rose Lavelle got her first of the season, but the real highlight was Jordynn Dudley. The rookie looked sharp, skillful and effective, breaking into the box and teeing up Lavelle for their second goal of the day. Certainly, there are some health concerns when it comes to Gotham’s depleted bench depth and lack of defensive cover.

5. Angel City FC (Previous: 3)

After starting the season 3-0-0, Angel City has slumped to consecutive defeats. However, those narrow 2–1 losses have come on the road to the Orlando Pride and at home against the Portland Thorns. Both were settled in the second half stoppage time. It’s hard to be too critical of ACFC when their recent losses have been against some of the NWSL’s best teams, with the outcomes almost going the other way. There’s a lot to like in Los Angeles right now.

4. Washington Spirit (Previous: 5)

The underlying numbers had shown that the Washington Spirit were unlucky to start the season winless in their first four matches. Now, the rub of the green is going the other way. The Spirit were undoubtedly the better team in their 4–0 thrashing of the KC Current, but it probably wasn’t the four-goal performance we had been waiting for. Goalkeeper Sandy MacIver continues to impress. The Scot had to be at her best to keep things level early and give the Spirit the platform to win.

Friday night’s win also had a lot of firsts. Trinity Rodman, after signing a groundbreaking contract, got her first goal and assist of the season. Claudia Martínez, just 18, got her first NWSL goal, becoming the first Paraguayan to score in the league. And, Leicy Santos netted her first NWSL brace.

3. Orlando Pride (Previous: 1)

It’s still the Barbra Banda show for the 2024 champions. The Zambian forward is leading the Golden Boot race, with five goals, after a brace on Friday in the Pride’s 3–2 defeat on the road to Racing Louisville. With a record of 2-2-2, Orlando may look like a mid-range team to some. But with Banda and some very promising attacking numbers, this is a side more at home in the elite group. Orlando ranks third in the league for xG (10.7) and first for shots on target per 90 minutes (7.2).

2. Portland Thorns (Previous: 3)

Welcome back, Sophia Wilson. The 25-year-old scored her first goal for 540 days and her first as a mother to cap off the Thorns’ last-gasp 2-1 road win over Angel City. Beyond the ever-improving Wilson, there’s a lot to like about the balance in Portland’s attack. Pietra Tordin netted again to bring her total to three. Reilyn Turner and Olivia Moultrie are also sharing the goals with three each.

1. San Diego Wave (Previous: 2)

How can you argue with a club record winning streak of five? The Wave continues to lead the league in key statistics such as big chances (16) and touches in the opposition box (205). Rookie Lia Godfrey is one of the breakout stars of the season. She netted her fourth of the year in the come-from-behind win over the Summit.

That win in Denver was not San Diego’s most convincing of the season, but it was a remarkable achievement to overturn a halftime deficit. So remarkable in fact that the Wave became just the sixth NWSL team to ever come back and win a match from two goals down at halftime away from home.

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