NWSL Power Rankings: Washington Spirit look sharp with young talent; Houston Dash hit rock bottom

North Carolina Courage hang on to the top spot despite a loss, but there’s major shake-ups behind them

Apr 22, 2024

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6:28 am ET

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4 min read

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The 2024 NWSL regular season continues as all 14 teams said farewell to the first phase of the season with week 5. Team identities are starting to take shape for some, while others are still figuring things out. Some clubs even made moves during the transfer window, though any players moved didn’t see action this week. Make sure you don’t miss any of the games, fans can watch select NWSL regular season matches across CBS, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+and CBS Sports Golazo Network.

Each club has played again since our Week 4 Power Rankings, so what’s changed after Week 5?

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Let’s take a look at where teams stand ahead of week six in our Power Rankings:

2024 NWSL Power Rankings 

RankTeamChangeAnalysis

1. 

North Carolina Courage

—

Suffered a road loss but it’s hard to be too upset when you outshot an opponent 15-5 and got the better of the expected goals 2.26 to 0.36 thanks to Tyler Lussi and Ashley Sanchez. Sometimes even good teams get beat in games when they have more opportunities. 

2. 

Kansas City Current

+2

In last week’s rankings we said that Temwa Chawinga and Bia Zaneratto look almost unstoppable right now. After another four goals between them in a Kansas City win, the duo has now transcended to instant goal status.

3. 

Orlando Pride

+2

Marta is quietly having a renaissance in her career and Summer Yates is in a good run of form in her sophomore season with the club. The Pride got their first win of the season and it finally feels like Orlando’s jukebox full of rebuilds has finally landed on right the tune with the arrival of Barbra Banda.

4. 

Washington Spirit

+3

Outside back Casey Krueger was the slingshot for the Spirit’s attacking sequences this week in a 2-0 win over Gotham. Trinity Rodman and Ouleymata Sarr have kept backlines honest, and it keeps opening up space for rookie Croix Bethune to expose.

5. 

Chicago Red Stars

+1

Mallory Swanson couldn’t be more back if she had access to a time machine. The team was dealt a blow losing Ava Cook to an ACL injury during training and bounced back with a road win over the Seattle Reign and a superstar performance by Swanson delivering a goal and an assist.

6. 

San Diego Wave FC

-4

The haven’t been able to show much of anything in front of goal lately. Alex Morgan’s exit from the game with an ankle injury isn’t helpful, but the club’s recent move for winger Maria Sanchez might finally shake things up in the attack for them.

7. 

NJ/NY Gotham FC

-4

The super team era is still very much on pause for Gotham. Head coach Juan Carlos Amoros and the squad are still trying to figure out how to win while navigating a slew of injuries. 

8. 

Angel City FC

+2

It’s not easy taking down one of the most in-form teams at the moment, and yet Angel City did exactly that this week. A massive performance by Claire Emslie with two goals and an organized defensive effort to secure three points. 

9. 

Portland Thorns FC

—

Mike Norris is out and promoted to technical director and assistant Rob Gale is interim head coach. Whether it is the jolt of staff rotation or going up against a Houston side with issues of their own, Portland is finally looking like a squad able to deliver a death blow — against other struggling teams.

10. 

Seattle Reign FC

-2

They’re not strangers to a slow start, but they’re not showing improvement, and the transfer window just closed. They look non-threatening in front of the goal and disconnected across other lines. 

11. 

Racing Louisville FC

—

Uchenna Kanu is in the early NWSL Golden Boot race and leading the team in goals scored while Taylor Flint and Savanah DeMelo are running the midfield. They’ve got their first win, beating the Utah Royals after four consecutive draws, but they’ll need to put it all together consistently and against non-expansion sides. 

12. 

Bay FC

—

The expansion side has been involved in some wild games already but is quickly turning into a streaky side that struggles on the road. The squad will have to regroup after Alex Loera confirmed she tore her ACL.

13. 

Utah Royals FC

—

The franchise was active during the transfer window and made moves at the deadline. With good reason, because the expansion franchise has four losses in five weeks. Head coach Amy Rodriguez needs some solutions for her roster quickly as the next phase of the season arrives. 

14. 

Houston Dash

—

The club had to deal with poor headlines after their former franchise player requested a trade. They were busy during the transfer window and Sanchez was shipped to San Diego and goalkeeper Emily Alvarado to Portland. The team leads the league in goals conceded and head coach Fran Alonso probably can’t wait for his defensive reinforcements to arrive soon enough. 

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