NWSL Power Rankings: Temwa Chawinga is back, Portland hold top spot and Chicago hit new low

Who's hot? Who's not? GOAL ranks each of the current 16 National Women's Soccer League teams.

This weekend in the National Women’s Soccer League had a little bit of everything: a hat trick, upsets, fiery rivalries, and late winners.

Temwa Chawinga finally opened her account for the season in emphatic fashion, scoring three times in Kansas City’s Sunday afternoon clash with the Chicago Stars. In doing so, she delivered the Current’s first hat trick in NWSL regular-season play and reminded the league just how dangerous she can be when healthy. Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda continued her scoring tear, too, netting her eighth goal in eight games to push the Pride past the Courage 1-0 on Friday.

Elsewhere, Racing Louisville pulled off one of the weekend’s biggest surprises with a 3-1 win over the Portland Thorns. Katie O’Kane scored twice for Louisville, while Sophia Wilson’s sixth-minute opener ended up being Portland’s only breakthrough.

This week’s Power Rankings consider the results, of course, but also how teams showed up beyond the final scoreline. Boston Legacy, for instance, put reigning NWSL champions Gotham FC through it on Saturday, earning a 1-1 draw against one of the league’s top sides.

With that in mind, GOAL ranks all 16 teams after another eventful week in the NWSL.

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16Chicago Stars
Prior ranking: 15
Result: Lost 3-0 vs Kansas City Current
Ramifications: Chicago continue to have a tough go this season, dropping their seventh game so far, and conceding 18 goals. The Stars couldn't find answers for Temwa Chawinga, who put three past them.

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15Boston Legacy
Prior ranking: 16
Result: 1-1 Draw vs Gotham FC
Ramifications: Drawing Gotham FC was pretty much a win for the Boston Legacy, who put the reigning champs through the ringer with their physicality and high-press. Major credit to Legacy's defense that had more than two goal-line saves to keep the game locked.
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14Denver Summit
Prior ranking: 13
Result: Won 4-1 vs Houston Dash
Ramifications: Denver Summit keep getting better and better, and one thing that head coach Nick Cushing wants his team to be labeled as is a great attacking squad. Putting four goals past Houston is just that. The new NWSL franchise is 2-3-3 overall and is in 12th place in the league standings.

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13Racing Louisville
Prior ranking: 14
Result: Won 3-1 vs Portland Thorns
Ramifications: Racing Louisville put three goals past league front-runners Portland Thorns on Friday, and it was Katie O'Kane's brace that made the biggest impact. Emma Sears also chipped in a goal for Racing Louisville's win.
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12Houston Dash
Prior ranking: 10
Result: 2-0 loss vs Utah Royals, 4-1 defeat vs. Denver Summit
Ramifications: Despite a great start to the season, the Dash dropped their two games this week, falling 2-0 on Wednesday to the Utah Royals and then 4-1 to the Summit on Saturday. The Dash are now 3-4-1 overall and in ninth place in the league standings.
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11North Carolina Courage
Prior ranking: 6
Result: Lost 1-0 vs Orlando Pride
Ramifications: The North Carolina Courage and Orlando Pride met for a battle of the Golden Boot leaders as Barbra Banda and Ashley Sanchez both entered the match leading the league in goals. The Courage, despite a close battle with the Pride, conceded a Banda goal in the 87th minute.
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10Bay FC
Prior ranking: 12
Result: 0-0 Draw vs Utah Royals
Ramifications: Bay FC haven't been consistent this season, and their draw against the Royals was another example of that. They are in about just every game, but haven't been able to solve for finishing out games. They are 3-3-1 and currently sitting in 10th place in the league standings.
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9Angel City
Prior ranking: 5
Result: Lost 2-1 vs San Diego Wave
Ramifications: It was a Southern California matchup between Angel City and the San Diego Wave, and despite Emily Sams' equalizer in the 54th minute to level out the game after the Wave scored first, they couldn't quite close out the match as the Wave doubled it in the 81st minute.
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8Seattle Reign
Prior ranking: 9
Result: Lost 1-0 vs Washington Spirit
Ramifications: Seattle Reign fell to the Spirit despite the home advantage. The Reign are tied with the Orlando Pride with 11 points, but don't have the same attacking threat that the Pride have in Barbra Banda. Claudia Dickey, goalkeeper for the Reign, now has 27 saves in eight games played.
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7Orlando Pride
Prior ranking: 7
Result: Won 1-0 vs North Carolina Courage
Ramifications: Barbra Banda has now scored eight goals in eight games. The forward is the difference maker by a mile for the Pride, as she's really the only one scoring for them. The Pride sit in seventh place in the league standings, tied with the Reign's 11 points.
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6Kansas City Current
Prior ranking: 8
Result: Won 3-0 vs Chicago Stars
Ramifications: The Kansas City Current are so happy that Temwa Chawinga is back healthy, as her hat trick was a nice reminder of just how good she is. The Current also were effective top to bottom, with a solid team win after a somewhat inconsistent season so far.
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5San Diego Wave
Prior ranking: 4
Result: Won 2-1 vs Angel City
Ramifications: The Wave stumped Angel City on Saturday, earning their sixth win of the season. The Wave sit in third place in the standings with an impressive 6-3-0 record.
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4Gotham FC
Prior ranking: 2
Result: 1-1 Draw vs Boston Legacy
Ramifications: The Boston Legacy gave it to Gotham on Saturday, in what is becoming a budding rivalry in the league. Jaedyn Shaw scored Gotham's only goal, and that was the first of the game in the 37th minute. Gotham remain in a good spot in the standings, with a 4-2-3 overall record and a fifth-place seat.
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3Washington Spirit
Prior ranking: 3
Result: Won 1-0 vs Seattle Reign
Ramifications: The Washington Spirit closed out another game this season, solidifying a road win against Seattle this past weekend. It was Claudia Martínez's goal that secured the Spirit's win.
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2Utah Royals
Prior ranking: 11
Result: 0-0 Draw vs Bay FC
Ramifications: The Utah Royals are still cruising this season, showing vast improvement from last season and going against their overall struggles as a franchise. The Royals have never made it into the postseason, but chances are looking good for them right now, as the club picked up four points this week and sit in fourth place in the league standings with 17 points.
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1Portland Thorns
Prior ranking: 1
Result: Lost 3-1 vs Racing Louisville
Ramifications: With only one game this week, the Thorns couldn’t quite figure things out against Racing Louisville, despite Sophia Wilson adding another goal in her already explosive return to the league. Portland remain this week’s top-ranked team because, even with Friday’s loss, they still sit top of the table - now just one point ahead of the Spirit.