NWSL Power Rankings: Rose Lavelle Can’t Prevent Gotham’s Fall After Matchday 11 | OneFootball

Rose Lavelle is back. She made her first appearance of the 2025 National Women’s Soccer League season after ankle surgery in December 2024. With NJ/NY Gotham FC trailing 2–0 to the Kansas City Current, the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup winner came on as a substitute for Taryn Torres in the 73rd minute.

But even with Lavelle back on the pitch, Gotham couldn’t get back in the win column as the team navigates its worst run of form since Juan Carlos Amorós took over as head coach in 2023.

Gotham is now 10th in the standings, as concerns grow that this team not only has fallen out of the elite bracket but perhaps could even miss the playoffs. It may be early—with over half the season left to play—but Lavelle certainly has a lot on her shoulders.

Outside of Gotham and Racing Louisville, our NWSL Power Rankings haven’t shifted too much. While the bottom and the top of the league feel pretty clear, the playoff-chasing middle pack is a chaotic crush.

Here are this week’s rankings.

NWSL Power Rankings After Matchday 11

14. Chicago Stars (1-8-2) [Previous: 14]

A 2–2 draw away to Angel City is nothing to be scoffed at for the NWSL’s last-placed team. The Chicago Stars rode their luck, with Nádia Gomes’s deflected equalizer, to make it 1–1. On the flip side, Ally Schlegel scored a goal-of-the-season contender with a rocket from outside the box. There wasn’t enough attacking chance creation, but given the thin squad missing starting goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, this was a commendable effort and an encouraging performance for Chicago.

13. Utah Royals (1-8-2) [Previous: 13]

After scoring just one goal between Matchdays 3 and 8, the Utah Royals now have scored six goals over the past three games. Things appear to be trending upwards, even if the club is on a six-match winless run after a 3–2 defeat in Kentucky last weekend. Ana Tejada’s red card may have cost this team a hard-earned tie on the road. And the Spaniard’s suspension won’t help an already depleted squad. At least Brecken Mozingo is in the best form of her short NWSL career, with three goals in her last three games.

12. Houston Dash (3-6-2) [Previous: 12]

Another pretty good defensive performance for the Houston Dash, who were mere seconds away from getting out of Florida with a clean sheet before losing 1–0 to the Orlando Pride in the 99th minute. It has been a surprise to see head coach Fabrice Gautrat swap out club captain Jane Campbell for Abby Smith at goalkeeper. But Smith put on a show against the Pride, making seven saves and finishing with a positive goals prevented score of +0.6. The problem is that the Dash cannot score. And starting Yazmeen Ryan as a center forward with Messiah Bright on the bench doesn’t feel like a solution.

11. Bay FC (4-4-3) [Previous: 11]

A big 1–0 home win for Bay FC over the surging Portland Thorns will do this club wonders. Bay jumped into the playoff places at eighth in the NWSL standings. Look a little deeper, though, and this is the same Bay we’ve seen all year. Solid, hard to beat, but unremarkable in terms of creativity and game-changers. Head coach Albertin Montoya opted to give Asisat Oshoala a rare start, and the Nigerian did look better, cracking the post on a nice angled effort. The arrival of Hannah Bebar could be the remedy for this team. Perhaps by the end of June, Bay will catapult up the rankings.

10. Portland Thorns (4-3-4) [Previous: 6]

Despite the Thorns’ impressive form in April and May, it has started to feel like this team had seen a lot of calls go their way. In soccer, like life, everything swings back eventually. Portland is much more of a mid-table, playoff-chasing team than a top-four contender right now. The Thorns average 1.59 nonpenalty expected goals per game this season, but put up just 0.9 against Bay. Credit to Bay for that blocking effort, and perhaps Deyna Castellanos’s absence was felt for the Thorns. There is not a lot separating these teams in the middle right now.

9. NJ/NY Gotham FC (3-5-3) [Previous: 5]

The fall of Gotham is here. The consensus third or fourth-best team in the NWSL at the start of the season, Gotham is spiraling in the league despite going off to Mexico and winning the Concacaf W Champions Cup two weeks ago. The team is on a three-match losing streak for the first time under head coach Juan Carlos Amorós, with no Gotham player scoring in the past four matches. Fingers crossed Midge Purce did not pick up an injury in Saturday’s 2–1 defeat to the KC Current.

8. Angel City (4-4-3) [Previous: 8]

The Alexander Straus era is here, and perhaps not the start many expected. Angel City’s new head coach was given a warm welcome at BMO Stadium but couldn’t defeat the lowly Stars, and settled for a 2–2 draw. It was especially frustrating after getting off to such a promising start with Kennedy Fuller finishing off a magnificent team move. Alyssa Thompson only being fit enough to go 60 minutes didn’t help ACFC play with their desired intensity. But overall, this is a young team with a high ceiling. The talent level is not the issue, it’s the consistency. Off the pitch, it was heartwarming to see Savy King back in attendance for the first time since she underwent heart surgery last month.

7. North Carolina Courage (3-5-3) [Previous: 7]

A 3–1 defeat never looks good, but the North Carolina Courage played a decent game against the Washington Spirit on the road in D.C. with head coach Sean Nahas away from the team due to medical reasons. The Courage had 15 shots (eight on target) and generated the second most xG (2.9) of any team facing the Spirit this year. Manaka Matsukubo now has four goals in her past three games, which is more goals than she managed in her first 31 games in the NWSL. The Courage are improving, even if the results are patchy.

6. Racing Louisville (5-4-2) [Previous: 10]

As Gotham falls, Racing Louisville rises. What a job by head coach Bev Yanez and her staff. This is not a roster many people expected to be in the playoffs, let alone in the top six of the NWSL standings. The 3–2 win over the Royals was peak Louisville under Yanez. Grit, competitive edge, smart set-piece design and a little bit of magic from Emma Sears. The U.S. women’s national team winger scored the goal of the weekend and is now up to six on the season, a career best that eclipses her rookie season tally of five. Hard work beats talent, and few are working harder than Racing. There’s been caution about pushing Louisville up these rankings, but all bets are off now.

5. Seattle Reign (5-4-2) [Previous: 6]

Seattle Reign continues to be one of the most constricting teams in the NWSL, capable of taking away an opponent’s best attacking options. The Reign’s 2–1 win over the high-flying San Diego Wave was built on giving up possession but not chances. San Diego created just eight shots and only two of those chances were above 0.23 xG. Yes, Seattle can’t rely on rookie Sally Menti and 19-year-old Emeri Adames both scoring bangers from outside of the box every week, but this was about creating an environment to give yourself a shot. Extra credit to Menti, who made her first NWSL start.

4. San Diego Wave (6-3-2) [Previous: 4]

The Wave’s six-match undefeated streak is over. The good news is that Delphine Cascarino remains rather unstoppable. Another goal for the Frenchwoman was scored in the 2–1 loss to Seattle. She is now up to three on the season. Jonas Eidevall wasn’t able to field his first-string midfield over the weekend, and that might be why the team lost its purpose on the ball. For now, there’s credit in the bank, with the Seattle defeat not telling us too much.

3. Washington Spirit (7-3-1) [Previous: 3]

No one quite knew how the Spirit would react to the announcement that head coach Jonatan Giráldez would leave the club at the end of June for OL Lyonnes in France. Well, if Saturday’s raucous 3–1 win over the Courage at Audi Field in front of over 17,000 fans is any indication, things look pretty good. The Spirit was able to start Hal Hershfelt and Croix Bethune in the midfield together for the first time since August 2024. Gift Monday also scored her fourth goal of the season and is getting better all the time as her teammates learn her tendencies. Even with the coaching change, this is a championship-caliber team.

2. Orlando Pride (7-3-1) [Previous: 2]

Do not doubt the Orlando Pride. Elite teams know how to win. Even when things aren’t easy or players are missing. Head coach Seb Hines started with Barbra Banda and Marta on the bench as he tried to give his internationals more room to recover from the international break. In the end, the breakthrough on Orlando’s 1–0 win over Houston was from an unlikely source: Cori Dyke. The defender scored the first goal of her career in the 99th minute with virtually the last kick of the game. Her celebrations were raw and emotional and showed why the passion and culture of the Pride squad is up there with the best teams in the world.

1. Kansas City Current (9-2-0) [Previous: 1]

No change at the top of the rankings as the KC Current won a fourth consecutive game and Temwa Chawinga scored in a fourth consecutive match. The best bit of the 2–1 win over Gotham was the double act of Chawinga and Michelle Cooper. The two forwards scored and assisted each other, with both goals coming in the opening 30 minutes. Kansas City continues to set the tone in almost every match and brush teams aside. Due to Alana Cook's ACL injury, the Current brought back Elizabeth Ball into the starting lineup, and the NWSL veteran looked solid enough. Even with Debinha also expected to be out for two months with a knee injury, Kansas City doesn’t appear to be slowing down.