The Current withstood a bloodbath in Orlando to affirm their spot at the top of the National Women’s Soccer League while Bay FC stabilized things at the expense on their intra-state rivals from the City of Angels. Here’s how the NWSL teams stack up after Week 9.
Cream of the Crop
Kansas City Current (7-2-0, 21 pts; @ Pride, 1-0): Current firmly entrenched themselves at the top of the heap for now by going into Orlando and emerging victorious in an entertaining, physical encounter. The only drawback may be if they come out the match with some injuries. Temwa Chawinga, whose vintage goal stood up as the winner, was seen walking gingerly after the match following a crunching tackle from Emily Sams.
The next level
Orlando Pride (5-3-1, 16 pts; vs Current, 0-1): The attacking woes continued against the Current. The Pride did not play poorly defensively but it only takes a small mistake to open the door for Chawinga. In this case the Pride paid for it. The offensive issues are real though.
San Diego Wave FC (5-2-2, 17 pts; @ Gotham, 1-0): The Wave have been fun to watch this season, but one of the hallmarks of a good side is being able to push through when things are not going your way. The Wave went to Gotham on Friday and prevailed, on the road, in a game that was, putting it generously, ugly. Kimmie Ascanio scored the goal, and the Wave now account for 5 of the 6 youngest instances scoring game-winning goals.
Portland Thorns FC (4-2-4, 16 pts; @ Dash, 4-1): The Thorns rested several starters ahead of this week’s trip to Mexico for the Concacaf W Champions League semis and final, and still dismantled the Dash on the road. Pietra Tordin made her maiden NWSL goal a memorable one and Caiya Hanks continues to prove difficult to stop when she controls her touch. This is a club on an impressive run.
The Sphere of Mediocrity
Washington Spirit (5-3-1, 16 pts; vs Royals, 3-3): It always feels good when you grab a late goal to get a draw. This one was no exception after Casey Krueger scored the latest headed goal in league history. But the Royals had not scored in the run of play since March 22, and they made the Spirit back line look pedestrian at times. They were much better when Krueger came on at halftime so perhaps when she is fit enough to go 90 it will be more difficult for opponents to get free in the box.
Angel City FC (4-3-2, 14 pts; @ Bay, 0-2): Just when you thought it was safe to label Angel City legitimate contenders. They created little against Bay and were unable to follow up their shutout win over the Royals with a strong defensive effort. Megan Reid stepped in for Savy King and it looks like that is a spot Angel City will need to account for at least for the medium future.
Seattle Reign FC (4-3-2, 14 pts, @ Louisville, 1-0): Similar to the Wave, sometimes you have to gnd out an igly win away from home to stash points you’ll need when the dust settles on the playoff race. This one was postponed from Friday to an early Saturday start, a daunting task for West Coast teams traveling to Eastern Time. So good on the Reign for getting the win. You just have to wonder how good they could be if Jess Fishlock got healthy.
North Carolina Courage (3-3-3, 12 pts; @ Stars, 2-0): Back to .500 and 10 points from the last 12 on offer and a double dose of Manaka Matsukubo delivered a 2-0 win in Chicago. Tougher tasks await though starting with this weekend’s visit to San Diego. When last the Courage were at Snapdragon they were spoiling Alex Morgan’s last professional soccer game. This will be her first home match as a Wave minority investor.
NJ/NY Gotham FC (3-4-3, 12 pts, vs Wave, 0-1): I don’t often quote xG here, but Gotham’s loss to the Wave featured a combined sub-1.0 xG. Difficult to frame that in a positive light. It is also difficult to ponder that after Esther bagged seven goals in four games, Gotham have been blanked in three straight, and taken one total point off Racing, the Stars, and Wave.
Bay FC (3-4-2, 11 pts; vs Angel City, 2-0): Is it too early to call a win season-saving? Probably. But that doesn’t mean beating an in-form Angel City team wasn’t important for a club whose season looked like it may have been ready to derail. Penelope Hocking scored a nice one and has suddenly scored in two-straight. Jordan Silkowitz earned her clean sheet and has been one of the unsung players around the league this season.
Swimming upstream
Racing Louisville FC (3-4-2, 8 pts; vs Reign, 0-1): Gotta win the tight, mundane ones to shed the reputation of a team that always finishes ninth. Not much else to say this week.
Houston Dash (3-5-1, 10 pts; vs Thorns, 1-4): So should the Dash just ask for the entire 2026 season to be scheduled on the road? Yazmeen Ryan didn’t play, but there is no way the Dash an defend being as abysmal as they were in the first half against a Thorns squad that rested several key players. And is Jane Campbell now considered benched?
Utah Royals FC (1-6-2, 5 pts; @ Spirit, 3-3): Can you give up the equalizer in the 12th minute of stoppage time and still be satisfied? Probably not, but the Royals did look better offensively in the first half than at any other point this season — and it’s not close. So maybe — maybe — they are close to turning a corner? When you read this column last week, a draw in Washington would have looked good, right?
Chicago Stars FC (1-7-1, 4 pts, vs Courage, 0-2): Jameese Joseph nearly had one but was slightly offside. They looked to have a penalty until VAR oddly overruled it. And so go the excuses for a team clearly still riding the new coach bump but now also alone at the bottom of the table.
