Football

NWSL Power Rankings: Orlando Pride keep riding high as they claim league shield on 23-game unbeaten streak

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1m ago

Oct 08, 2024 / 9870 Views

Evan Walker

The 2024 NWSL regular season is nearly over and there's a brand new NWSL Shield winner. The Orlando Pride are 23 Games unbeaten and the winningest team in the league. Orlando have their first major hardware, they're on the hunt for more, and will be the No. 1 seeded team headed to the postseason. There's not much time remaining in the regular season, or playoff spots left to claim.

While five teams have clinched a place in the playoffs, there's only three remaining spots left up for grabs, and some teams in the hunt are outperforming those in postseason position. That's where our power rankings come in.

Make sure you don't miss any of the action as fans can watch select NWSL regular season matches across CBS, CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and CBS Sports Golazo Network.

How did clubs do in our NWSL Power Rankings? Let's take a look at where teams stand after week 23:

2024 NWSL Power Rankings

Rank	Team	Change	Analysis
1.	Orlando Pride	--	An outrageous season keeps getting better for the Pride. Orlando are the 2024 NWSL Shield winners, and even though they are regular season champions, they somehow look even hungrier for more hardware after winning the newly updated shield. Barbra Banda is a backline wrecker, Adriana keeps the creativity flowing, Kylie Strom and Emily Sams are defensive stalwarts, and Marta is a legend on a mission to further cement her legacy. To top it all off, no one is playing as if they are more important than the other. A complete unit to be feared.
2.	NJ/NY Gotham FC	--	The reigning champions are looking like they're on the hunt for a repeat. They turned on the dominance after a lengthy stalemate against Bay FC thanks to four different goal scorers and a massive performance by Spanish international Esther Gonzalez, who had two goals and an assist. Cranking up the volume as the regular season winds down will keep confidence high.
3.	Kansas City Current	+1	Temwa Chawinga has tied the all-time single-season scoring record with her 18th goal this season. Vanessa DiBernardo continues to show off her veteran skill set this year with calm ball control and clinical goals of her own. Her recent tally brings her to five goals and five assists this season.
4.	Washington Spirit	-1	Losing a couple of starters ahead of a massive match is one thing, going without six of them is an entirely different thing altogether. The injuries don't help, and there's no dishonor in losing to the best team in the league, but there were key moments the Spirit will question themselves about. Conceding a penalty, and generating an own goal, are not ways to get a victory against the No. 1 team in the league. Now they'll have to hope Andi Sullivan's injury isn't a serious one.
5.	North Carolina Courage	--	The Courage clinched a spot in the playoffs while getting some player rotation into the mix. Adjustments will benefit the team down the stretch and into the postseason, especially since they welcomed back Japanese international Manaka Matsukubo from her U-20 FIFA women's World Cup runners-up appearance and 2023 MVP Kerolin gets closer to fitness.
6.	Chicago Red Stars	--	Brazilian international Ludmila is emerging as a favorite for best signing in the summer window. She's scored in three consecutive matches for a Red Stars offense that had otherwise gone stale since the regular season break. But will it be enough to carry the team to the playoffs?
7.	Racing Louisville FC	--	Louisville have struggled to put lower-ranked teams away and it's the stretch of season where it has come back to haunt them. It's looking like another year with another ninth-place finish for a team that made summer moves for playoffs or bust. Still, it's never say never, and Racing are in a better position than others right now.
8.	Portland Thorns FC	--	The injuries are piling up at the worst time for a club that is winless in seven games. Despite one of the worst second-half season records, the team is treading playoff waters, but that's some deep, shark-infested, murky waters.
9.	Bay FC	--	Group had an opportunity to show they're not just in the playoff mix but here to compete against contenders and they fell well short of proving any doubters wrong. A lopsided loss on the road doesn't knock them out of contention, but it definitely doesn't build confidence when going up against top-four teams.
10.	Angel City FC	+1	The franchise was docked three points in the standings due to salary cap violations and the players responded with a gutsy performance. They won their three points back and live to see another week in the playoff hunt.
11.	San Diego Wave FC	-1	Looked like more of the same Wave we've seen throughout the year – efforts to get shots off, ball in areas of opportunities, and late-game scoring that doesn't do much to change the outcomes of games. Maybe they'll have more to give during the Concacaf W Champions Cup.
12.	Utah Royals FC	--	The Royals are making things difficult for other teams and staying in the playoff hunt. The squad looks even stronger with Ally Sentnor back in the mix from U-20 responsibilities and Japanese international Mina Tanaka back from injury.
13.	Seattle Reign FC	-1	The Reign look like a shell of themselves and are on the road to nowhere with just weeks left in the season. Points are sparse, tactics stale, and this strange, long mathematical equation toward a possible playoff spot just feels more like slow death than hope.
14.	Houston Dash	--	Houston picked up their 14th loss of the season and it's got them in last place in the league table and our rankings. They're eliminated from playoff contention now, so there's a bit of "what comes next" for this franchise mixed with yet another attempt at a rebuild for 2025.

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