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NWSL Power Rankings - Week 4

Utah Royals move into first with a 3-0-0 record!

By Kreg Asay

We’re 4 weeks into the NWSL season, and there is a growing variance in how many games teams have played. On the low end, the Royals, Thorns and Spirit have only played three, while Orlando has finished five. With an odd number of teams the chances of it being even anytime soon is remote, all we know for sure is it will be by the end of this season.

I do rankings for both NWSL and MLS a little differently; typically in soccer leagues within the USA, the home team wins more than 50% of the time. Thus I rank any team deviates from the ‘normal’ higher - basically an away team winning will move higher than a home team winning. The same applies for ties - a home team drawing will likely cause them to drop because it’s not what was expected of them.

So without further mindless banter, here’s the power rankings for week 4. (#) indicates last week’s ranking.

  1. Utah Royals (2) - There are 3 unbeaten teams, but only one with a perfect 3-0-0 record. The Royals now sit in first place after 3 games; a downside is they’ve only scored 3 goals, but on the upside they have allowed none!
  2. North Carolina Courage (1) - After a 90 minute rain delay at home, all they could manage was a scoreless draw vs Sky Blue. Perhaps the international call-ups will hit them hard?
  3. Portland Thorns (3) - Bye week. No other teams did better so they stand pat.
  4. Chicago Red Stars (5) - Held Utah until the 2nd half, but ultimately fell 1-0. The result may have been different if they hadn’t been a player down due to the red card. Move up only because others fared worse.
  5. Seattle Reign (6) - They picked up a needed point via a scoreless tie vs Washington, but they are one of 3 teams that have yet to win this season. They move up only because they tied the 6th place team playing away.
  6. Washington Spirit (4) - Gave up points at home to a team that has yet to win a game. They are unfortunate to drop 2 places only because others fared better.
  7. Houston Dash (7) - A home win by one goal. Would have liked to move them up, but couldn’t justify making the Spirit take a 3 point fall for a scoreless draw.
  8. Sky Blue FC (8) - Gaining traction! A scoreless draw on the road against what has arguably been the best team in the league is a positive indicator! A win could push them up another place.
  9. Orlando Pride (9) - The Pride have lost 4 out of 5 games, and a -9 goal differential. That’s all that needs to be said.

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