NWSL Power Rankings: Orlando Pride keeps winning streak alive, Courage upsets KC Current, and more

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Celia BalfSep 3, 2024FEATURESNWSL

The Orlando Pride extend unbeaten streak, and Utah Royals put on a high-scoring performance over Houston Dash

Orlando Pride was the team to watch over the weekend, and made it very clear once again why they are at the top - undefeated now for 19 consecutive games, and sitting at a league-best 13-0-5 on the season. Meanwhile, Kansas City Current struggled for the third-straight week, falling to North Carolina Courage 2-1. INDIVISA is back with another week of NWSL Power Rankings.

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14. Houston Dash ⬇️
It was a battle from the bottom of the standings, and the Houston Dash fell 3-1 to Utah Royals FC at home. The Dash have been struggling all season, and currently only have three wins, 10 losses, and five draws.
In good news, the Dash did score, which snaps their six-game streak without scoring a goal.
The Dash will be tested on the road against NJ/NY Gotham FC next weekend.
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13. Utah Royals ⬆️
The Utah Royals earned their fourth win of the season, dominating the Houston Dash 3-1.
Utah took the lead in the 44th minute thanks to Ana Tejada's scrappy play in the box. She capitalized, getting Utah on the board just before halftime.
Utah's second goal came from Claudia Zornoza, who converted a penalty kick in the 55th minute. Just minutes later, Utah added to their lead with a breakaway opportunity starting from Zornoza. She picked off a ball around half field and played a through ball to a racing Paige Monaghan, who then buried her breakaway shot, to finish up Utah's scoring on the night.
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12. San Diego Wave ↔️
San Diego Wave FC came back to equalize with the Washington Spirit on Sunday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
Fans are still hoping for a season turnaround, with Landon Donovan at the helm of the Wave now on an interim basis, and with Naomi Girma back on the pitch. It may still take some time to figure out the pieces to the puzzle for the Wave, however some promising performances against the Spirit last weekend were hopeful signs.
Defender Kristen McNabb earned her first goal of the season and French international Delphine Cascarino earned her first start for the Wave after making her NWSL debut last weekend for the club. The Wave have some work to do to climb up the league standings, and face the North Carolina Courage next weekend.
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11. Portland Thorns ⬇️
Portland had a tough go, despite some tricky end line work from Sophia Smith. The Thorns fell to Bay FC 3-1, and will have a challenging task as they face the Washington Spirit next weekend.
Question marks reamin for the Thorns, including their offensive execution, and ability to break lines up the field. The Thorns will have to find some solutions fast, as the season is going by quickly.
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10. Bay FC ⬆️
Bay FC's highlight moment in their win over Portland had to be Abby Dahlkemper's header goal. Bay FC just recently picked up Dahlkemper from San Diego Wave, and already the move proved to be a good one. Bay FC earned a dominant 3-1 win over Portland, to keep them just in the final playoff spot in the standings.
Bay FC will next face Racing Louisville at home.
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9. Chicago Red Stars ⬇️
The Chicago Red Stars are still a top team this season, despite falling in stoppage time to Angel City.
The Red Stars looked like they were going to walk away with a point on the road, but were robbed off a beautiful finish from Sydney Leroux. Mallory Swanson struggled to find the ball, as the Red Stars were limited in their chances on goal.
The Red Stars are 7-9-2 overall, and sit in 7th place.
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8. Angel City ↔️
Angel City scored an epic win over the Chicago Red Stars. Sydney Leroux came off the bench to score a goal in 90+1 minute into stoppage time. Leroux was on the receiving end of a textbook service from M.A. Vignola, who found Leroux racing to goal, and Leroux slotted it home scoring her 46th career regular-season goal.
It's impossible to mention Angel City without talking about Alyssa Thompson. The rookie scored again this week, getting her team a second win in a row.
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7. Racing Louisville ⬇️
Racing Louisville put up a fight at home against Seattle, but they just couldn't outlast the Reign's pressure.
Taylor Flint had a strong performance for her side, making her presence known in the midfield and even scoring one for her team. An own goal late into the second half would be the difference maker in the match, becoming another winless week in Louisville.
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6. Seattle Reign ⬆️
Seattle Reign FC grabbed their second-straight win, beating Racing Louisville 3-2 on the road.
It was an exciting match in Kentucky, with Racing Louisville getting on the board first in just the fifth minute. Not long after, Reign's Sofia Huerta converted a penalty kick for her side to make it level at 1-1.
In the 44th minute, just before the half, Taylor Flint made it 2-1 for Louisville. It was just after this moment, that the game changed for the Reign. In the 53rd minute, Ji So-Yun entered the match for the Reign and not long after chipped one in the net.
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5. Kansas City Current ⬇️
Kansas City is still doing just fine, but falling in their third-straight loss after such a strong unbeaten streak to start the season, isn't ideal.
Despite getting on the board first against the Courage, the Current couldn't hold on despite a brilliant Temwa Chawinga goal just past the hour. The Current have some work to do to get back to winning ways, and will look to turn things around against Utah Royals next weekend.
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4. North Carolina Courage ⬆️
The North Carolina Courage deserve some movement in this week's rankings after a dominant come-from-behind win over Kansas City Current.
The Courage kept fighting, despite going down 1-0 in front of their home fans at WakeMed Field.
Cortnee Vine scored her first goal for the Courage to even the game at 1-1. In stoppage time, it was Brianna Pinto who came to the rescue for the courage in front of an impressive 6,003 fans, delivering the winning goal.
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3. NJ/NY Gotham FC ↔️
Although Gotham FC didn't get themselves on the scoreboard against the Pride, there were some strong offensive moments - they even outpaced Orlando in shots (16-13) and final-third entries (65-37).
Gotham FC sits in fourth place in the league standings, and will look to get three points against the Houston Dash next weekend.
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2. Washington Spirit ↔️
The Washington Spirit didn't lose over the weekend, but a draw on the road against San Diego Wave was far from what they team was hoping to do.
The Spirit and the Wave have now tied on three occasions, and for the most part the game was fairly even based on possession. The Spirit struggled to break through the Wave's disciplined defense, but finally did so by way of the Wave's own goal in the 30th minute.
The Spirit currently sit in second place in the league standings with a 12-4-2 overall record.
1. Orlando Pride ↔️
The Orlando Pride are now unbeaten in 19 straight games, and technically need just one more win to clinch their spot in the playoffs. The Pride faced NWSL reigning champs NJ/NY Gotham FC in Orlando on Sunday.
While Gotham has looked strong all season, they were no competition for Orlando's attacking force and ability to play all sides of the ball. Adriana scored both goals for Orlando, her first in the 5th minute and her second in the 18th minute.
Another big win for Orlando was this match marking head coach Seb Hines' 26th victory with the Pride. That makes Hines the winningest coach in Orlando Pride history.