NWSL Power Rankings: Denver Summit, Angel City Rise While Contenders Falter

If the temperature is cooling off, that's just Autumn in the air and not the 2026 NWSL regular season. The final stretch of the season is heating up, with only one team eliminated from playoff contention and the NWSL Shield still up for grabs, with just five games remaining in the season.

That means it's the perfect time to dive back into weekly NWSL Power Rankings. So if you're trying to keep track of where your favorite team lands, here are my previous rankings. Power isn't just for teams competing for the NWSL Shield; it's also for those pesky playoff-line-hovering teams.

Denver Summit may sit just outside the playoff picture in the standings; anyone who's watched the Summit over the past month would hardly count this team out. That's why they got a big boost in the power rankings this week. The place where even those on the outside looking in can make a statement to the rest of the league.

The Colorado expansion side has turned Centennial Stadium into a tough place to play and is currently riding a five-game unbeaten streak into the final weeks of the season, proving that an "inaugural campaign" doesn't exactly have to just mean a building year. Right now, they're within striking distance of the playoff line, but in the rankings? They're among the upper half. A huge reason is defender Janine Sonis.

The Canadian international earned a recent call-up for the October window, and she's put together one of her best individual club seasons. Her 15 goal contributions, with 11 goals and four assists, have pushed her into the spotlight when it comes to team scouting and among the top five in the Golden Boot race.

An outside back putting up those kinds of attacking numbers is hard to ignore, and she's making the most of her place in manager Nick Cushing's system. But just like the league standings, anything can happen in the power rankings, so the final match weeks will reveal whether Denver's surge is destined for more, or too little too late.

Denver isn't the only club finding its footing at the right time, either. Angel City FC is punching above its weight in the power rankings and league table. Thanks to some huge efforts by Taylor Suarez in back-to-back appearances off the bench during a week with a quick turnaround, things could be coming together right when it matters.

Their current run of form is helping them push for a playoff spot and climb the rankings, all while making things harder for others hovering around them. They're the type of team right now that can make things difficult for others, and unfortunately themselves, so here's to keeping us on our toes.

Now, on to the most recent rankings:

Biggest Movers 2 Angel City FC 2 Utah Royals FC Rk Teams   Chg Rcrd 1 NJ/NY Gotham FC Looks like Gotham is stepping closer to NWSL Shield glory and showing no signs of slowing down. Tierna Davidson is outright stacking her defender of the year resume week to week, and rookie Jordynn Dudley's efforts in front of goal aren't too far behind. -- 15-4 2 Washington Spirit Nothing like getting your rhythm back after a slump in form. Trinity Rodman is back in menace mode, scoring goals and giving backlines nightmares, just in time for spooky season and the postseason push. 1 14-7 3 Portland Thorns If the Thorns attack is quietly building form in the middle of a playoff race, that's a scary concept. From Morgan Weaver's banger from distance to Sophia Wilson's inevitability, the Thorns are finally looking like they're playing up to their contender pedigree. 1 12-7 4 Utah Royals FC Truthfully, I've enjoyed Utah's streaky run of form, but now I'm getting a little nervous for them. They're putting together a historic club run towards the playoffs, but consistency will be key moving forward. 2 13-9 5 San Diego Wave FC The Wave remain my sneaky good team that are very dangerous to go up against at the moment. Now I want to see them dominate and outplay teams who are limping into next season. -- 14-8 6 North Carolina Courage Ashley Sanchez remains an unreal shooter in front of goal, but North Carolina's struggle against teams ahead of them in the field is notable. The road won't get easier, so hopefully they dig a little deeper to really narrow the margins on the rankings. -- 12-10 7 Angel City FC Nothing says a power rankings swing more than a successful multi-game match week. Angel City is standing on business and handling it like it's easy. Now the real test begins for them with just a handful of opportunities to make statements against bona fide contenders. 2 11-8 8 Denver Summit FC Denver's good run of form is coming at a crucial time. It's bumping them up the power rankings, but they'll still have work to do if they want to make playoff history in their inaugural season. 2 9-8 9 Seattle Reign It's the most exciting stretch of the season, and I want to see more urgency from Seattle. We're just not getting it, and it's playing out on the pitch, and now in their slip in the rankings too. 2 11-10 10 Kansas City Current Seems like too many things need to be going right for Kansas City in order to be successful. One player injury here, another there, and the coaching staff just can't figure out the next best step. Good teams with deep rosters find a way; Kansas City is not right now. 2 11-9 11 Orlando Pride Orlando is limping into the final stretch of the season, and the only reason they're not tumbling in the rankings is that Barbra Banda is on the roster and other teams are struggling worse than they are. -- 9-13 12 Houston Dash There was finally a head coaching change boost for the Houston Dash. After parting ways with former manager Fabrice Gautrat, they put together a 90-minute performance to earn them another bump in the rankings. 1 8-12 13 Bay FC Sometimes it's the little things in life that make a difference. Like having a better performance than a team worse than you in the right week, and good movement on the pitch by Alex Pfeiffer in front of goal. 1 7-13 14 Boston Legacy FC While Boston Legacy are closer to being eliminated from contention than anything else, there's still time to lean into a villain era and play spoiler for others. 2 7-13 15 Chicago Stars FC All eyes are on 2027 with this squad moving forward now that Vlatko Andonovski is Chief Soccer Officer. But hopefully they don't get too ahead of themselves; there are still games left this year, and there's always time to slip in the rankings. -- 5-18 16 Racing Louisville FC Not a single performance worthy of a rankings bump by this squad in quite some time. Tough times for this club on and off the pitch with lack of general results and rumors of relocation. -- 7-16

Add CBS Sports on Google Join the Conversation comments

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/nwsl-power-rankings-denver-summit-angel-city/)._