Matchday 20 of 26 featured big debuts and movement around the table. The top two teams faced off in Kansas City, and each walked away with a draw.
Gotham downed San Diego, and Esther González is back on top of the Golden Boot race after scoring the first of the team’s goals. Newly acquired Jaeydn Shaw immediately delivered for Gotham FC.
The reigning champions extended their winless run. And a word for Savannah DeMelo, who collapsed on the field during Racing Louisville‘s match with Seattle Reign.
So, who’s leading the pack, and who’s falling short of expectations?
INDIVISA presents the latest 2025 NWSL Power Rankings.
Matchday 20 of 26 featured big debuts and movement around the table. The top two teams faced off in Kansas City, and each walked away with a draw.
Gotham downed San Diego, and Esther González is back on top of the Golden Boot race after scoring the first of the team’s goals. Newly acquired Jaeydn Shaw immediately delivered for Gotham FC.
The reigning champions extended their winless run. And a word for Savannah DeMelo, who collapsed on the field during Racing Louisville’s match with Seattle Reign.
So, who’s leading the pack, and who’s falling short of expectations?
INDIVISA presents the latest 2025 NWSL Power Rankings.
Prior Ranking: 14
Result: Beat Houston Dash 2-0
Ramifications: The Royals have now gone five games undefeated, with two wins and three draws. They’re still sitting at the very bottom of the standings. But their form is solid, and they haven’t been officially ruled out of the playoffs.
Prior Ranking: 13
Result: Drew Portland Thorns 1-1
Ramifications: The Chicago Stars haven’t lost a game since before the international break. That seven-game win streak includes six draws and one win – last week against Orlando. They’ll need a bit more to break out of the bottom of the table, but the results have been steady.
Prior Ranking: 10
Result: Lost 2-0 to Utah Royals
Ramifications: One weekend after beating San Diego 3-0, the Dash lost to last-placed Utah. That’s a blow to fans hoping this team can sneak into the playoffs. The Dash are sitting a few spots below the playoff line with just six matchdays to go. And after going six-games undefeated – with big wins against top of the table teams – losing to the last-placed team in NWSL will sting.
Prior Ranking: 12
Result: Drew Orlando Pride 1-1
Ramifications: The Pride aren’t putting out their best results these days, but they’re still a tough team to play. Bay FC fans can be pleased with the performance, in which Racheal Kundananji scored her third goal of the season. That said, they finished the weekend in 12th place – four spots and nine points below the playoff positions. They play third-place Gotham next with time running out to make a second-consecutive postseason berth.
Prior Ranking: 8
Result: Loss to North Carolina Courage 2-1
Ramifications: After two straight games on the road and two straight defeats, Angel City are heading home next weekend to lick their wounds against the Washington Spirit. That’ll be a tough test, as Angel City aims for a turnaround performance against the second-place team in the league. Silver lining in defeat? Icelandic forward Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir scored her first NWSL goal since signing for Angel City in the team’s loss.
Prior Ranking: 11
Result: Beat Angel City 2-1
Ramifications: The Courage picked up their first win since parting ways with coach Sean Nahas – their first win since June 21 against the Houston Dash. The three points were sorely needed, as they sit just one spot below the playoff positions with six games to play. Manaka Matsukubo scored her sixth goal of the year in the win, moving her into fourth place for total goals/assists in NWSL, behind only Temwa Chawinga, Esther Gonzalez and Ludmila.
Prior Ranking: 9
Result: Drew Chicago Stars 1-1
Ramifications: Portland are in fourth place of the NWSL standings, but they’ve been dropping unnecessary points against teams at the bottom of the table. That includes this draw with 13th-place Chicago, which came two weekends after losing to the 14th-place Royals. They’re back at home next weekend for an interesting test against San Diego, who’ll be looking for a turnaround performance at Providence Park.
Prior Ranking: 7
Result: Match against Seattle Reign suspended
Ramifications: Louisville occupies the final playoff position at the moment. Fans will be focused on the well being of team mainstay Savannah DeMelo. The midfielder collapsed on the field over the weekend, causing the contest to be suspended. She has been reported to be “stable and alert” by the club.
Prior Ranking: 6
Result: Match against Racing Louisville suspended
Ramifications: Seattle are seventh in the standings and had their match against eighth-place Louisville suspended after DeMelo collapsed on the field.
Prior Ranking: 5
Result: Drew Bay FC 1-1
Ramifications: The reigning champs are desperate for a win – they haven’t won a game since June 13 against Bay FC. But they settled for a draw amid an eight-game winless run (four defeats, four draws). Other teams vying for playoff spots are producing temperamental results too, and the Pride are still in a reasonable spot in the standings.
Prior Ranking:3
Result: Lost to Gotham 2-0
Ramifications: San Diego has had a tough run of results. After losing to Gotham at home, the side now hasn’t won a game in a month, with three defeats in that timespan. They’ve got the tools to turn it around, but will need to start on the road in Portland next weekend.
Prior Ranking: 4
Result: Beat San Diego Wave 2-0
Ramifications: Gotham won in San Diego for the first time and debuted their seismic new signing, Jaedyn Shaw, who scored the second of two goals for the Bats. They’re now four games undefeated with three wins and one draw, including two wins against teams in the top six.
Prior Ranking: 2
Result: Drew Kansas City Current 0-0
Ramifications: The Spirit held on for a draw despite going down to 10 players at CPKC Stadium after Hal Hershfelt left the pitch with a second yellow card. That’s a respectable result against the league’s top team, and it makes the Spirit just the third to hold Kansas City scoreless in 2025.
Prior Ranking: 1
Result: Drew Washington Spirit 0-0
Ramifications: It’s not typical for Kansas City not to score. In fact, this is just the third time that’s happened all season. But they’re still on top of the table, ahead of Washington by a 14-point margin. And the weekend draw made more history: the Current are the first NWSL team to reach 50 points after only 20 games played in a season.
