NWSL Power Rankings: San Diego Wave set the pace with Catarina Macario still to come, four-penalty chaos in Houston steals spotlight

Prior ranking: 16

Result: Lost 1-0 vs San Diego Wave

Ramifications: Boston remain winless in their inaugural season, and despite being 0-4-0, are in just about every game. The team is defensively deceptive, but they just haven't found a way to get on the scoreboard with only one goal so far this year.

Prior ranking: 14

Result: Lost 1-0 vs Utah Royals

Ramifications: The Stars were unfortunately another team that fell due to a penalty kick in Week 4 action. What was a close game was decided in the 84th minute, when Utah capitalized on a penalty, which dropped the Stars to four losses on the season and 14th place overall.

Prior ranking: 13

Result: 2-2 Draw vs Portland Thorns

Ramifications: The Courage earned one point at home to progress to 1-1-2 overall. The Courage got on the board thanks to Manaka Matsukubo and Ashley Sanchez.

Prior ranking: 15

Result: Won 1-0 vs Chicago Stars

Ramifications: Utah got themselves a win at home thanks to a well-executed penalty by Mina Tanaka in the 74th minute. The Royals are in seventh place in the league standings with a 2-2-1 overall record. 

Prior ranking: 11

Result: Lost 2-0 vs Washington Spirit 

Ramifications: Between an own goal and late 86th minute finish from Gift Monday, it wasn't Bay FC's day at their home stadium. The Spirit were hard to play against, turning up the pace from the previous few games, and despite an even first half, Bay FC struggled to hang on.

Prior ranking: 12

Result: 0-0 Draw vs Seattle Reign

Ramifications: The Summit recorded their third draw of the season, this time against a very talented Reign FC side. Despite just picking up one point this weekend, the Summit continue to make promising strides as they look to make their mark on the league each week.

Prior ranking: 10

Result: Lost 4-3 vs Houston Dash

Ramifications: This entire match was a 'what did we just watch?' type of game. There were four penalties given out, two to each side. A 90th-minute and nine minutes of extra time penalty was awarded to the Dash to pull away by one at Shell Energy Stadium.

Prior ranking: 8

Result: Won 2-1 vs Angel City

Ramifications: It was a Haley McCutcheon show for the Orlando Pride, who stunned Angel City 2-1 in Orlando on Friday. The Pride had a quiet start to the season if it wasn't for Barbra Banda, but turned things up against Angel City, handing the California team their first loss of the season.

Prior ranking: 6

Result: Won 2-1 vs Gotham FC

Ramifications: The Current’s slow start has been a surprise given their attacking talent, but Saturday finally offered a glimpse of what they can be. Goals from Michelle Cooper and Debinha powered a 2-1 win over the reigning champions at CPKC Stadium.

Prior ranking: 4

Result: Lost 2-1 vs Kansas City Current

Ramifications: Gotham hasn't been able to start the season quite the way they had planned, dropping to 13th place overall in the league standings. While they fell to the Current on the road, it was encouraging seeing Jaedyn Shaw back in the lineup, and her goal was a nice nod as well.

Prior ranking: 9

Result: Won 4-3 vs Racing Louisville

Ramifications: This game could be summed up to a matter of luck, but the Dash have been on a different level all season and despite the chaos of the match, managed to get another big win and progress to 3-1-0 overall. 

Prior ranking: 7

Result: Won 2-0 vs Bay FC 

Ramifications: The Spirit were long overdue for some goals, and the way they happened against Bay FC was far from conventional, but they did the job regardless. The Spirit got their first goal of the match on an own goal, and then Gift Monday doubled the lead for the Spirit to give the D.C. team their first win of the season.

Prior ranking: 5

Result: 2-2 Draw vs North Carolina Courage

Ramifications: The Thorns battled North Carolina to a 2-2 result, and had a game-leading 16 shots on goal. Olivia Moultrie and Reilyn Turner scored the two goals for the Thorns, showcasing the power of the young talent on the Thorns' squad.

Prior ranking: 1

Result: Lost 2-1 vs Orlando Pride 

Ramifications: Angel City dropped their first match of the 2026 season, falling 2-1 vs Orlando on the road. Gisele Thompson scored Angel City's lone goal, which came in added time to bring the two sides to level. 

Prior ranking: 3

Result: 0-0 Draw vs Denver Summit 

Ramifications: Seattle Reign played Denver Summit to a 0-0 draw, but the night belonged to Claudia Dickey.The Reign goalkeeper set a new club record for regular-season saves, surpassing Hope Solo with her 190th. Denver controlled much of the game, finishing with 12 shots and 53 percent possession, but Dickey’s performance ensured Seattle held on for a point.

Prior ranking: 2

Result: Won 1-0 vs Boston Legacy

Ramifications: San Diego Wave are off to a strong start and already look tough to beat. Ludmila’s lone goal secured a fourth win of the season, sending the Wave to the top of the table. With Catarina Macario still to join the front line, this team might be unfair in attack in a few weeks.