What a night it was in Kentucky. Racing Louisville’s 2–0 win over the defending champions, the Orlando Pride, was one of the biggest results in the team’s history.
That win capped off the best start in Louisville’s history. For the club that has never made the National Women’s Soccer League playoffs, now the dreaming has begun.
Head coach Bev Yanez has taken a team no one fancied and put them in the thick of the postseason conversation.
Similarly, after finishing 13th and having one of the worst seasons in their history in 2024, the Seattle Reign are well and truly back. A promising first half of 2025 was capped off with a 4–1 win over the Utah Royals.
That win was the Reign’s biggest of the season, and a much-needed jolt in the arm for a team who have been defensively resolute but has struggled to score more than one or two goals in games.
The NWSL will now hit pause until August, as the summer is filled with tournaments around the world, from the 2025 Women's Euros to the Copa America Femenina and the Women's African Cup of Nations.
Here are your NWSL power rankings at midseason.
14. Utah Royals (1-10-2) [Previous: 14]
Last season, Amy Rodriguez started 2-10-1 before she was dismissed as Utah’s head coach. Jimmy Coenraets must be feeling the pressure as the Royals hit rock bottom after a 4–1 thrashing by Seattle Reign. Sixteen goals conceded in their past five games is an abysmal defensive record.
13. Chicago Stars (1-9-3) [Previous: 13]
This team is putting in a lot of effort under interim head coach Masaki Hemmi, but there isn't much development in terms of creating chances. Chicago battled to try to keep the score down and eventually lost 1–0 to the Thorns. Not getting blown out is an improvement, but the Stars haven’t won in nine games.
12. Houston Dash (3-8-2) [Previous: 12]
Two steps forward, two steps back for Houston. Avery Patterson scored the fastest goal in team history this past weekend (after 52 seconds), and the Dash tried to sit on a 1–0 lead but ended up losing 2–1 after Sarah Puntigam was sent off. Houston needs to sign at least one center forward in the transfer window and figure out how they want to score. Thirteen goals in 13 games is the third-worst record in the league.
11. Bay FC (4-5-4) [Previous: 11]
Despite two defeats, the past couple of weeks have not been terrible for Bay, who are showing they can create chances. However, the team isn’t managing games well enough. After toiling away at 1–0 down last week, Bay scored first and quickly let their lead slip in a 2–1 defeat to Gotham. The good news is that Penelope Hocking continues to revitalize this team. Hocking has four goals and an assist in her last six games.
10. Angel City (4-5-4) [Previous: 10]
Angel City showed off good defensive stability away to the Current this past weekend, and if it weren’t for Alyssa Thompson missing a penalty kick, then perhaps the game wouldn’t have finished 1–0 to Kansas City. This is still a team learning how it wants to play and how it can be most effective. Plenty of talent, consistency and cohesion to come.
9. NJ/NY Gotham FC (5-5-3) [Previous: 8]
Gotham made it back-to-back wins with a bit of luck over Bay FC. Esther González scored her 10th of the season after an error from Alyssa Malonson, with Geyse scoring the second in the 2–1 win after a beautiful pass over the top from Nealy Martin. Gotham have a squad that feels thin. Although credit to the defense, who, after wrestling back the lead, held firm. It could be a busy transfer window to boost the bench options.
8. Portland Thorns (6-3-4) [Previous: 9]
After a confident 1–0 win over the Chicago Stars, the Thorns head into the summer break undefeated at home. Considering this team just lost Caiya Hanks to an ACL injury, there is so much to like about their resiliency and trust in young players to come through in big spots.
7. North Carolina Courage (5-5-3) [Previous: 6]
Cast your mind back two months, and the Courage had zero wins after five weeks. After last weekend’s 2–1 win over the Houston Dash, North Carolina has won five of its past eight games. Jaedyn Shaw scoring her first goal for the club off the bench in the win over Houston is huge. The Courage will be better when Shaw finds her feet.
6. Racing Louisville (6-4-3) [Previous: 7]
Racing are right up there with San Diego Wave and the Orlando Pride as one of the most in-form teams in the NWSL, not named the KC Current right now. The job head coach Bev Yanez has done to get this group aligned is starting to feel like Coach of the Year material.
5. Seattle Reign (6-4-3) [Previous: 5]
If the Reign can keep adding goals, then this team might be able to level up from playoff hopeful to serious contender. Seattle has scored as many goals in their past three games (eight) as they managed in the nine before this recent run. The Reign have some work to do, but have shown they are ready to compete at the top of the power rankings.
4. San Diego Wave (7-3-3) [Previous: 4]
In the scoreless 0–0 draw with the Washington Spirit, the Wave dominated proceedings and put the visitors under a lot of pressure. The NWSL’s possession queens, averaging 59.1% a game, have been superb this first half of the year. Even with the departure of Maria Sanchez, this team should be a contender.
3. Washington Spirit (7-4-2) [Previous: 3]
Getting out of San Diego with a point was admirable for the Spirit, who were defensively organized. Goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury made six saves and put in a player-of-the-match performance. The Spirit need to get healthy and reset during the summer break, but their eyes can stay locked on lifting a championship.
2. Orlando Pride (8-4-1) [Previous: 2]
Even with another loss, the 2–0 result on the road in Kentucky, the Pride are still one of the most together units in the NWSL. Barbra Banda is getting double or triple-teamed and still has managed eight goals. The key for this team could be role-playing attackers like Summer Yates, Ally Watt and Julie Doyle stepping up when Banda soaks up attention.
1. Kansas City Current (11-2-0) [Previous: 1]
No one else is coming close to the Current at the NWSL summit right now. Peerless in almost every way. Top of the league for goals scored, with the best defense, and a ridiculous home record of six wins from six games. Kansas City has four more points (33) than last year’s champions, Orlando (29) had at this stage of last season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as NWSL Power Rankings: Seattle Reign and Racing Louisville Make Statements at Midseason.
