NWSL midseason report card: The good, the bad, and the ugly halfway through the season

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The NWSL is back this week after a month-long summer break, which saw many of the league’s players competing in and even winning the Euros, WAFCON, and Copa América Femenina.

League games kicked back off on Friday, and with various roster changes, trades, and signings over the break, it remains to be seen how things will shake out over the second half of the season.

In the meantime, here’s the NWSL midseason report card, breaking down which clubs excelled over the first half of the season—and which ones

still have a lot of work to do.

Kansas City Current - A+

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Kansas City has been the best team this season, and they have the points to show for it. Offensively, defensively, and especially in the midfield, they’ve put together several excellent performances.

2024 NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga has continued her scoring excellence this season with 9 goals to her name.

They also just announced an exciting new signing, with young USWNT star Ally Sentnor traded from the Utah Royals in exchange for $600,000, an intra-league record.

The KC team is certainly the favorite to win the shield so far, with 8 points more than second-place Orlando Pride. If they can keep up their success, they could be well on their way to their first NWSL Shield—or even their first Championship.

San Diego Wave - A

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The San Diego Wave have dramatically outperformed expectations by far this season, thanks to revamped possession-based tactics from new head coach Jonas Eidevall.

While the offseason saw stars like Jaedyn Shaw and Naomi Girma depart, the Wave’s new signings have more than stepped up, leaving the club in a strong place at the halfway mark.

Forward Delphine Cascarino has been particularly impactful up top, while French teammates Perle Morroni and Kenza Dali have also made a huge difference. Now, the Wave will also have new signings Laurina Fazer and Dudinha with them for the rest of their campaign.

Can the Wave keep up their successful run? It’s not clear, but they’ve certainly put themselves in a good position.

Orlando Pride - A-

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The Orlando Pride are still very much in contention, although not quite as flawless as they were last season. They had a few tough results before the break, including losses to Racing Louisville, the Kansas City Current, and the Portland Thorns.

But even not at their full strength, the Pride are still a very good team, and shouldn’t be counted out. While the Shield might be close to out of reach for now, they’ll be doing everything they can to secure a home playoff game spot and a second Championship.

Washington Spirit - B+

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With 23 points and in fourth place, the Washington Spirit have had a relatively strong season, although they’ve been plagued by injuries for key players like star Trinity Rodman. Rodman will be available for the Spirit’s return on Sunday, although the team is still being careful with her ongoing injury.

The Spirit have made several impactful signings this season, building on an already stacked roster under ownership of investor Michele Kang, who also owns OL Lyonnes and the London City Lionesses. They’ll also undergo a coaching change the second half of the season, with former assistant coach Adrian González replacing former head coach Jonatan Giráldez, who has left to coach OL Lyonnes.

The return of González, who served as interim head coach last year, could be positive news for the Spirit. Players like forward Sofia Cantore, who shone in the Euros for the over-performing Italian squad, could also be a bright spot.

The Spirit are an excellent team and could very well find themselves back in the Championship game this year.

Portland Thorns - B+

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The Thorns were missing key players this season, like star Sophia Wilson—which makes the success they’ve achieved even more impressive. Young players like Pietra Tourdin, Caiya Hanks, Jayden Perry, and Reilyn Turner stepped up and allowed the team to take home key points.

Now, they’ll have to figure out an attack without Hanks.

Notably, the Thorns are undefeated at home so far this season—even against top teams like the Pride—perhaps pointing to the importance of their fanbase and the atmosphere at Providence Park.

Seattle Reign - B

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The Reign made a big acquisition of Mia Fishel, the US international who formerly played for Chelsea FC. 24-year-old Fishel only recently returned from her ACL recovery, but is a hugely exciting signing for Seattle, who gain an excellent forward entering her prime.

The Reign have had a decent season, with budding players like Sam Meza and Sally Menti growing into key figures in the midfield.

At fourth on the table, the Reign are performing far better than they did last year. Although they still have room to grow, Laura Harvey and Seattle seem to be on the right track for now.

NJ/NY Gotham FC - B

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Gotham entered the season with the expectation of being one of the top teams, as they were last year, but roster turnover, injuries, and underperforming their xG means that they briefly fell out of a playoff spot and entered the summer break at eighth.

The NJ/NY club has suffered from holes in their defense after USWNT star Tierna Davidson sustained a season-ending injury, and desperately need more reliable goal scorers. But on the positive side, Spanish striker Esther González is currently leading the Golden Boot race and has scored 10 goals this season for Gotham.

If Gotham can shape up and cohere in the second half of the season, they have the talent to move higher in the table. But for now, something seems like it just hasn’t been clicking.

Racing Louisville - B-

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Before break, Racing had an impressive 2-0 win over the Orlando Pride. But beyond that, their performances have been mixed, and they’ve let in 24 goals over their 14 games, the most out of any of the mid-season clubs.

Before the break, Racing’s faced a tough disciplinary record—Ary Borges faced a four game suspension for confronting referees, while Kayla Fischer sat out three for hair pulling.

Their best player, midfielder Taylor Flint, has been excellent this season, and signed a new contract with the club over the break.

Technically, Louisville is currently having their best season ever, with twenty points and in seventh place on the table. But even at their best, they’re still very much a mid-table team.

Can Bev Yanez lead them to their first ever playoff appearance?

North Carolina Courage - C

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The North Carolina Courage signed young talent Jaedyn Shaw last season in what was supposed to be a huge move, with Shaw replacing former star Kerolin. But unfortunately, things don’t seem to have worked out—with Shaw sometimes starting on the bench and North Carolina struggling to get results.

Coach Sean Nahas may have to adjust his game plan if he wants to start seeing better results.

Bay FC - D

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The only headlines Bay FC have been making recently are about the club’s coach, Albertin Montoya, after an NWSL investigation found that he did not violate league policies but did have “shortcomings” in his communication style.

Bay FC just haven’t been able to get off the ground, and they’ve only scored 14 goals over 13 games. If they want to move into a playoff spot like they did last year, they need to figure out some sort of plan to improve, and fast.

Angel City FC - D

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Angel City have a new head coach in Alexander Strauss and exciting new signings in Icelandic international Sveindis Jonsdottir and German international Sara Doorsoun.

But will these changes mean anything?

ACFC haven’t won a game since May—and that was against the Utah Royals.

Young players Alyssa Thompson and Riley Tiernan have had great seasons, contributing a large portion of the club’s goal contributions. The possible returns of Jun Endo, Ali Riley, and Sydney Leroux could be impactful.

Angel City aren’t the worst in the league—but they have a lot of room to improve.

Houston Dash - D-

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The Dash made big changes over the offseason, but they don’t seem to be paying off. For one, they lack a striker who can consistently score, and while Yazmeen Ryan is an excellent and versatile player, she’s more impactful as a play-making winger or attacking midfielder than goal-scoring striker.

At the other end of the field, they’ve also made some changes in goal, with Abby Smith replacing Jane Campbell in the starting goalkeeper position for several games.

The Dash seem to still be working things out, and they are on a better path than they were last year. But they don’t yet have the results to show for it.

Chicago Stars - F

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The Stars have not impressed this season, and it may be that they simply don’t have the talent needed to be a playoff contender. Ludmila and Jameese Joseph are two great players, but the Stars are sorely missing star forward Mallory Swanson, who is out on maternity leave.

Chicago isn’t very good at scoring goals, and they aren’t particularly good at preventing them, either; they’ve scored just 11 and let in 28.

Perhaps new interim head coach Ella Masar could turn things around. But don’t hold your breath—the Stars are in dire straits and likely need more than a new manager to turn things around.

Utah Royals - F

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The Utah Royals this year have not looked good, and they just lost one of their best players. With Ally Sentnor gone, do the Royals even have anything left?

Along with Chicago, the Royals have only won one game this season. They’ve tied two, and have ten losses, leaving them with just a measly 5 points.

The Royals need to change something quickly; let’s just hope the $600,000 in transfer money they received from the Ally Sentnor trade will be spent wisely.

Expansion Teams

Plus, here’s a look at how the expansion teams are shaking out so far. They’re now allowed to sign players, and will play their first matches at the beginning of next year.

Boston Legacy FC - B

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The Boston Legacy have made five signings so far, although none that have been extremely notable. Their new players include Aïssata Traoré, who comes from FC Fleury 91 in France, Alba Caño, a Barcelona player and graduate of their La Masia academy, and Annie Karich, who most recently played at SC Freiburg in the Frauen-Bundesliga. They also have a head coach, Filipa Patão, who formerly coached Benfica in Portugal.

Although Boston has some players, they don’t have their field—due to the controversy over their stadium plans, their renovated stadium in Boston won’t be ready until 2027. Instead, they’ll play the entirety of their first season at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, home of the New England Patriots and Revolution.

We’re giving Boston a “B” for now—but hope they’ll have more to show when the season starts.

Denver Summit FC - Incomplete

So far, the Summit have a name, identity, and a beautiful crest featuring Colorado’s mountains. But… they don’t seem to have anything else.

They did announce a GM—Curt Johnson, who previously worked as an executive for the North Carolina Courage. There are also rumors that they’re close to hiring Nick Cushing as their first Head Coach. Cushing previously coached at Manchester City Women and NYCFC.

However, with less than six months left before pre-season training begins, the expansion team needs to move a bit quicker on signing players—lest they end up falling behind before they’ve even started.