The five NWSL matches last Wednesday had a ton of exciting action and a few unexpected results.
The Kansas City Current lost to the Seattle Reign in a 3-0 blowout, the Denver Summit expansion team got their first club win ever, and the Utah Royals managed a 1-1 draw with the Washington Spirit, who have not yet won a game this season. No team yet has pulled definitively ahead, and early season results are always unpredictable, especially when teams rotate lineups for midweek games. As the matches continue,
we’ll see whether these results are for real or just a fluke.
The busy week will continue on Friday, with the undefeated table leaders Angel City FC and Houston Dash facing off in Los Angeles. Then on Saturday, the Denver Summit are set to break the league attendance record with their home opener at Mile High Stadium.
Here are All for XI’s latest power rankings:
16. Boston Legacy | Result: No match
The Legacy didn’t play a midweek game this week, but their results so far have been uninspiring. So far, they’ve lost against Gotham and Houston, and have little to show for their efforts.
Could their match this weekend against the Utah Royals finally be an opportunity to put points on the board?
15. Chicago Stars (-3) | Result: 3-0 loss against Orlando Pride
The Chicago Stars shocked viewers last weekend with a 2-1 win against the Current, only to come back down to earth in the midweek match with a 3-0 loss against the Pride. They conceded all three goals within the first 35 minutes. Oh, well—maybe the two results cancel out?
Unfortunately, it seems like last week was the fluke and this week is back to the status quo for the Stars.
14. Utah Royals (+1)| Result: 1-1 tie against Washington Spirit
The Royals managed a 1-1 tie with the Spirit on Wednesday at Audi Field thanks to a goal off the bench from Mina Tanaka. It’s a promising result for a club without much to show for its first few years. But Utah is starting to prove they can consistently score goals, and things may be looking up.
12. Bay FC (+2) | Result: No match
Bay FC didn’t play on Wednesday, but they started out the season with a win against Summit and a loss to ACFC.
It’s too soon to tell for sure, but defensive midfielder Claire Hutton may be just what the team needs to add a spark to their midfield and start seeing results.
13. Racing Louisville (-2) | Result: No match
Racing Louisville made the playoffs for the first time last season, and this season, the club will look to continue with similar results. While they have only one tie and one loss so far this season, players like forward Emma Sears, who has contributed two assists and one goal already and is a rising USWNT star, are a bright spot for the team’s future.
11. NC Courage (-7) | Result: No match
The Courage haven’t lost a game this season yet, beating Racing Louisville and tying against Gotham. After star forward Manaka Matsukubo returns from the Asian Cup, which she won with Japan, the Courage will have even more attacking power.
New head coach Mak Lind may just be turning things around for the team that narrowly missed out on playoffs last season.
10. Denver Summit (+3) | Result: 2-0 win against Gotham FC
At an away game in New Jersey, the Summit were able to capitalize on Gotham’s mistakes to take home their first win in club history. German international Melissa Kössler has been a huge piece for them, scoring in three consecutive matches. Goalkeeper Abby Smith also came up big with saves against her former club.
This weekend, after three matches on the road, the Summit will finally play at home in front of fans. Their match at Mile High Stadium is set to break the league attendance record with over 50,000 tickets sold.
It certainly seems like the Summit may be on the path to becoming the next expansion team to make the playoffs.
9. Washington Spirit (-3) | Result: 1-1 tie against Utah Royals
Looking at the Spirit’s roster, they should be a top team as they have been the past few seasons—but this season, after three games played, they have yet to win a match.
What are the Spirit doing wrong? They created 3.18 xG to Utah’s 1.73 xG, meaning they created quality chances but just weren’t able to score them. Similarly, they had 2.10 xG to Racing’s 0.54 xG in last weekend’s game, and outshot Racing 21 to 8.
Maybe the Spirit are just unlucky—but these are points they should be earning, which could hurt them if the table continues to be as tight it’s looking to be.
8. Kansas City Current (0) | Result: 3-0 loss against Seattle Reign
Missing midfielder Claire Hutton who was traded to Bay FC in the offseason, the Kansas City Current are a far cry from their record-breaking, Shield-winning season last year. After losing to the Stars over the weekend, they lost again on Wednesday to Seattle, letting in three goals and scoring none.
The Current have only beat the Royals so far this season. If they want to get back to the top of the table, they need to turn things around, and fast.
7. NJ/NY Gotham FC (-5) | Result: 2-1 loss against Denver Summit
Last year’s champions Gotham FC picked up their game in the second half when substitutes Rose Lavelle and Esther González came in off the bench, but it wasn’t enough for them to pick up any points—or even get on the score sheet. A bad mistake by Ann-Katrin Berger sealed Gotham’s fate in the Wednesday match, letting the Denver Summit get their first ever club win.
But while Gotham didn’t see the result they were looking for, they still have plenty to be excited about—rookie Jordynn Dudley has looked particularly promising in her three appearances with the club, and with a little more experience she may be the answer the club needs in order to score goals.
6. Orlando Pride (+4) | Result: 3-0 win against Chicago Stars
The Pride decisively won against the Stars on Wednesday, scoring all three goals in the first 35 minutes of the match. Barbra Banda is always a formidable opponent, and Jacquie Ovalle has also been making a name for herself—she’s had two assists and a goal to her name already this season. Ovalle’s goal against Chicago was a particularly enthralling back-heel—proving her nickname of “The Magician”.
5. Seattle Reign (+4) | Result: 3-0 win against Kansas City Current
The Reign pulled off a huge win against last year’s Shield winners, proving anything can happen in the NWSL. The 3-0 win came with goals from Angharad James, Madison Mercado, and Brittany Ratcliffe. Two wins and a loss is a strong start to the season for the Reign.
4. Houston Dash (+1) | Result: No match
The Houston Dash have had some excellent results this season, despite losing forward Yazmeen Ryan and midfielder Delanie Sheehan to the Summit, and have looked the best they have in a long time. With wins so far over the Wave and Legacy, the Dash will be tested this weekend in a match against Angel City.
2. Portland Thorns (-2) | Result: 3-1 loss against San Diego Wave
The Portland Thorns have had a solid start to their season, despite a 3-1 loss to the Wave. Forward Pietra Tordin has had an excellent few games and is absolutely a young player to watch. She scored Portland’s only goal on Wednesday.
3. San Diego Wave (+4) | Result: 3-1 win against Portland Thorns
The Wave had an exciting win against the Thorns, and are shaping up to be an excellent team this season. Dudinha, Ludmila, and Gabi Portilho are a trio of Brazilians that make up an impressive attacking core, and French midfielder Kenza Dali also had an excellent game.
Wave outplayed Portland with 65% posession and 2.24 xG to Portland’s 1.51 xG—and when USWNT star Catarina Macario arrives, they’ll be even stronger than they are now. The club officially announced her transfer this morning with a contract that runs through 2030.
1.Angel City FC (+2) | Result: No match
Angel City FC started off the season with two huge wins and seven goals in two games. Icelandic forward Sveindís Jónsdóttir has been an incredible contributor, with two goals and two assists already. 19-year-old Kennedy Fuller has also looked excellent.
ACFC has a perfect record so far, but they haven’t been challenged much yet—when they take on the Houston Dash this Friday, who will come out on top?
