NWSL: Spirit stumble, Pride still unbeaten

It’s Monday, and another week of NWSL action is in the books, which means it’s time for ESPN’s Power Rankings.

Our rankings are derived from a combination of key season statistics (points per game, goal differential, expected goal differential), recent performance, the Opta computer ratings and the observations of our writers.

Who’s climbing the table? Who’s in free fall? Our writers and statistical models have ranked all 14 clubs in the league after Matchday 21. Let’s dive in.

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Previous ranking: 1

Next match: Saturday vs. Houston Dash, 7:30 p.m. ET

The Orlando Pride are undefeated. Hold on, I know you just skimmed over that sentence without giving it its proper weight, so let me try that again. The Orlando Pride are undefeated. Through 21 games, they’ve yet to suffer a single loss. They have the longest unbeaten streak in league history — and it just keeps getting longer. They topped Bay FC in California on Friday, with a goal from, you guessed it, Barbra Banda. There’s a real inevitable feeling surrounding the Pride right now.

Previous ranking: 3

Next match: Saturday vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 1 p.m. ET

By topping the Washington Spirit, the Current earned revenge for a 4-1 loss last month and clinched a spot in the postseason. The attack is scary good — nothing has changed there — and new goalkeeper Almuth Schult has been strong since arriving in August. The German has saved 1.4 goals more than expected in her four games for the Current, according to FBref.

Previous ranking: 4

Next match: Saturday at Kansas City Current, 1 p.m. ET

On the back of Yazmeen Ryan‘s third-minute goal, which was the earliest goal in any game from this weekend’s slate of NWSL matches, Gotham has secured wins in five of its past six league games. Juan Carlos Amorós’ press made Utah melt Sunday and is still one of the biggest tactical X factors in the league. After forcing a turnover high up the field, all it took was three passes to get the ball to Ryan’s feet for the go-ahead goal.

Previous ranking: 2

Next match: Friday at Angel City, 10 p.m. ET

It was a no good, very bad Friday evening for the Spirit, and not just because they fell 3-0 to Kansas City. Trinity Rodman left the match and was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. After her initial exit, Rodman’s agent, Mike Senkowski, told The Washington Post that she had an “intense back spasm.” The good news, then, is it seems the Spirit avoided the worst-case scenario.

Previous ranking: 8

Next match: Saturday at Utah Royals, 7 p.m. ET

Racing left it late, but eventually took care of business against North Carolina with an equalizer in the 79th minute and a game-winning penalty in stoppage time. If Louisville can squeeze continued attacking production out of Bethany Balcer, it won’t be an easy out as the 2024 campaign nears its conclusion. The former Seattle Reign attacker has now scored in back-to-back games.

Previous ranking: 6

Next match: Sunday at Seattle Reign, 6 p.m. ET

Although Bay FC tried its best to put the Pride off their game by ceding most of the ball to the visitors, they became the latest team to fall at the hands of Banda and friends. While Bay largely did well to limit the quality of Orlando’s shots, it didn’t have the attacking consistency or the defensive fortitude to avoid a 1-0 loss.

Previous ranking: 5

Next match: Sunday at Chicago Red Stars, 6 p.m. ET

Kerolin is back! The Brazilian superstar made her first NWSL appearance in 342 days when she stepped onto the field in the second half of North Carolina’s 2-1 loss to Louisville. If there’s a player who can help turn the Courage’s commitment to keeping the ball into chances, it’s Kerolin. It’ll take time for the 24-year-old to fully rebound from an ACL tear, but progress is progress.

Previous ranking: 10

Next match: Sunday vs. North Carolina Courage, 6 p.m. ET

In the holding-on-for-dear-life performance of the weekend, the Red Stars eked out a 1-0 win over the San Diego Wave. Ludmila‘s early goal put Chicago on the inside track, but the Red Stars had to dodge 28 shots en route to a crucial three points. Make that back-to-back wins for the Red Stars.

Previous ranking: 9

Next match: Saturday at San Diego Wave, 10 p.m. ET

If there was ever a time for the Thorns to break out of their funk, it’s now. Sure, they’ve lost each of their past four regular-season games, but of their six games remaining, only one is against a team currently above eighth place in the standings. The defense is a legitimate issue, but there are points for the taking to lock in a playoff spot.

Previous ranking: 7

Next match: Sunday vs. Bay FC, 6 p.m. ET

The Reign didn’t want to be the team that finally let the Houston Dash back into the win column, but that’s exactly what happened Saturday. Despite having 63% possession, Laura Harvey’s team continued its trend of being below average in the final third. The result? A costly three points dropped.

Previous ranking: 11

Next match: Friday vs. Washington Spirit, 10 p.m. ET

The unfortunate truth about Angel City is that it’s not good at any one thing — that’s why it’s below the playoff line. The attack? Middling. The defense and goalkeeping? Truly poor. In fact, it has had the worst goalkeeping play in 2024, allowing nearly three goals more than expected over its 20 matches. Until things are solidified in the back, I’m not buying Angel City stock.

Previous ranking: 12

Next match: Saturday vs. Portland Thorns, 10 p.m. ET

San Diego’s loss in Chicago on Saturday was one of the strangest defeats you’ll ever see. The Wave managed 28 shots to the Red Stars’ nine and put together 3.55 xG, according to American Soccer Analysis, but couldn’t score. Here’s the kicker: No team has generated more xG in a single game in ASA’s dataset (which goes back to 2016) than San Diego did this weekend and still lost.

Previous ranking: 14

Next match: Saturday at Orlando Pride, 7:30 p.m. ET

Still missing coach Fran Alonso, the Dash snagged all three points in a single game for the first time since May by topping Seattle 1-0 on Saturday. The performance was far from flashy, which is to be expected from a team languishing near the bottom of the table, but the goal from Yuki Nagasato? Oh, it was really, really nice. For the first time in a long time, the vibes were OK in Houston.

Previous ranking: 13

Next match: Saturday vs. Racing Louisville, 7 p.m. ET

That four-game unbeaten regular-season run for Utah seems like it unfolded a long time ago, doesn’t it? The Royals have now lost three straight, with the latest defeat coming against Gotham on Sunday. After conceding in the third minute, Utah just couldn’t climb its way back into the game. Thanks to Houston’s win this weekend, it’s back on the bottom.