After a couple of quiet weeks of somewhat predictable outcomes in the NWSL, the Orlando Pride shut out the Houston Dash after losing 5-0 their last meeting, while the last-place North Carolina Courage nearly recorded a clean sheet against the No. 2 Chicago Red Stars. No. 1 San Diego Wave FC fell to Angel City, who were a player down when they scored the game-winning goal.

Through it all, just three clubs remain in the same spot from last week’s power rankings. OL Reign have finally moved into the top three, and the Kansas City Current have joined the top half.

Let’s dive in.

12. Racing Louisville FC (2-5-4) —

Racing Louisville hasn’t won since a 1-0 victory over Gotham FC on May 22, in a streak that’s spanned six games. Meeting Gotham again on Friday, Louisville had a chance to snap their losing streak in a chippy game where they outshot their opponents 24-9. But bad passing out of the back led to Gotham’s winning goal and a 2-1 loss, keeping Louisville firmly in last place in the power rankings.

11. North Carolina Courage (2-5-2) -2

Nearly three months into the regular season, the Courage still haven’t rediscovered their dominance from the Challenge Cup this past spring. On Sunday, though, they were the closest they’ve been all season. The Red Stars had a hard time keeping up with North Carolina’s quick counterattacks, and the Courage took a 2-0 lead into stoppage time, at which point Chicago scored two last-minute goals to salvage a draw. The Courage need to play with more urgency from start to finish if they want to close out games like Sunday’s and ultimately make a playoff push.

10. Orlando Pride (3-5-3) +1

The Pride showed no fear coming into Friday’s match against a team that had defeated them 5-0 in early June. In a hard-fought game against the Dash, the Pride were rewarded with a 1-0 win, their first of the season at home. The goal was the result of a desperate scrum in front of the net, but Orlando deserved it after controlling the game with six shots on goal and an 81 percent passing accuracy.

9. NJ/NY Gotham FC (4-5-0) +1

After three scoreless games, Gotham found the back of the net twice in a 2-1 win over Racing Louisville. The center of the park has been an area of concern for Gotham this season, but the midfielders made the plays needed to set up at least two goals on Friday. Some poor passing accuracy led to 32 clearances throughout the game, however, and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris came up with a couple of big saves to keep Gotham in the game.

8. Washington Spirit (1-5-6) —

Despite losing 1-0 Sunday, the Spirit showed more command against Kansas City than they have in recent games, even with seven players out on international duty with the U.S. women’s national team. That, combined with the fact that no other team deserves to rise into the No. 8 spot, keeps Washington from dropping in this week’s power rankings. The Spirit’s biggest downfall Sunday was that they were unable to get past Current goalkeeper AD Franch. Since their 2-1 win over OL Reign in the regular season opener, Washington hasn’t won in 11 games. A comeback is not out of the question considering the Spirit have six draws and have yet to lose by more than one goal. After outshooting the Current 13-9 and missing a penalty kick in stoppage time, they’ll need to be more precise in front of net to achieve it.

7. Houston Dash (4-4-3) -2

It’s one thing to lose, and it’s another to be outplayed. On Friday, the Dash fell victim to both against the Pride. In last week’s power rankings, we wrote that the Dash appeared to be losing sight of the success they had at the beginning of the season. This week, they failed to prove that wrong. Of their four losses this season, three have come in their most recent four games.

6. Kansas City Current (4-4-3) +1

The Current are quietly turning into one of the best stories in the NWSL. With a 1-0 win over the Spirit on Sunday, they extended their unbeaten streak to six games, after going winless in their first five matches of the season. Sunday’s victory brought them level in points with the No. 6 Dash. The Current previously had trouble controlling the play in the attacking third and finishing their chances. Recent acquisition Cece Kizer has made a big difference in that department, especially on Sunday when she subbed on to score the game-winner.

Cash Money Kizer.

The Current is flowing. 1-0 lead. Still work to do.#TealRising | #Water💧 pic.twitter.com/DRj54tVZd9

— KC Current (@thekccurrent) July 10, 2022

5. Angel City FC (5-4-2) +1

Not only did Angel City beat the No. 1 team in the league on Saturday, but they did it with a player down. Tyler Lussi was issued her second yellow card of the match in the 79th minute. Three minutes later, Claire Emslie scored the game-winning goal. Angel City didn’t play a pretty match, as they struggled to control possession and get shots off on goal, but they found a way to win in the face of adversity, which is an important tool to have in a league as competitive as the NWSL.

4. San Diego Wave FC (6-3-3) -2

The Wave started slowly against Angel City on Saturday. They didn’t pounce on the opportunity of the player advantage, and they made poor defensive mistakes that led to the game-winning goal. San Diego outshot Angel City 19-9 and had the majority of possession, but they couldn’t close out the win nor hold onto a top-two slot in the power rankings. They would be ranked third if not for OL Reign’s rise in the past week.

3. OL Reign (4-2-5) +1

In a fairly even match with the Portland Thorns, the Reign played with a vengeance. An own goal in the 12th minute could have easily shattered their focus; instead, they immediately pressed for a goal of their own. A minute later, they tied the game 1-1 courtesy of Olivia Athens’ first professional goal. After the Thorns reclaimed the lead in the second half, the Reign responded again with a Bethany Balcer goal in the 81st minute. Their strategic build-ups resulted in four shots on goal, and they held the advantage in duels, winning 44 of them.

2. Portland Thorns FC (4-1-6) +1

In another thrilling Cascadia Rivalry, the Thorns drew with OL Reign 2-2 on Sunday. Of the two sides, the Thorns applied more attacking pressure and logged 56 percent of the possession. The match showcased their roster depth, with six key players gone on international duty, including leading scorer Sophia Smith. Many new players appeared for the Thorns and rose to the occasion under high pressure. Portland heads into the week on a seven-game unbeaten streak and with the best goal differential in the league at 14 — six ahead of the next-best Wave.

1. Chicago Red Stars (5-1-5) —

Do the Red Stars deserve to be first in the power rankings this week? Maybe not. But do they deserve to move down after making a thrilling comeback over the weekend? In an intense battle against the Courage, the Red Stars weren’t always ready for North Carolina’s quick transition. With 55 percent of the possession, 79 percent passing accuracy and seven shots on goal, Chicago eventually had a breakthrough in stoppage time, scoring two goals to save a point. If anything, this team showed it won’t go down without a fight.

Jessa Braun is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering the NWSL and USWNT. Follow her on Twitter @jessabraun.

LOVB volleyball is coming back to cable, as the pro volleyball league announced a Wednesday night primetime partnership with USA Network for its 2026 season.

From January through April, USA Network will air a "Match of the Week" nearly every Wednesday evening, starting with a 2025 championship rematch between runners-up LOVB Nebraska and title-winners LOVB Austin on January 7th, 2026.

USA Network will also broadcast a portion of LOVB's 2026 postseason, including one semifinal and both games in the league's new two-match championship series.

Gearing up for its second season, LOVB features a talented player pool amid an increasingly crowded pro volleyball market.

One in every five LOVB athletes are Olympians, with 90% of the league's international players and 75% of its US players boasting national team experience.

Even more, growing demand for the sport has expansion on the horizon for the six-team league, with LOVB preparing to launch its seventh franchise in Los Angeles — backed by Angel City and Chelsea FC investor Alexis Ohanian — in 2027.

How to watch the 2026 LOVB season on USA Network

The second season of LOVB opens when inaugural champions Austin take on runners-up Nebraska at 6 PM ET on January 7th, 2026.

Live coverage will air on USA Network.

With the rookie card of Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark still doing numbers, trading card manufacturer Panini America is debuting Caitlin Clark Chronicled this week, dropping a limited-edition release on Monday that features a 22-page collectible book and 100-card set of the WNBA standout.

The book spans images of Clark on and off the court, and includes eight four-card packs and 32 randomly inserted trading cards, as well as autographed exclusives.

"I'm excited to launch 'Caitlin Clark Chronicled' with Panini America and share some of my favorite moments on and off the court from my first two years in the WNBA," Clark said in Monday's statement. "We wanted to create something different that combined great photography with trading cards, including some special exclusives. I am proud of this collection and hope fans enjoy it."

The WNBA superstar is an exclusive Panini partner in the trading card and autographed memorabilia space, with Clark making headlines last July when her one-of-one autographed rookie card sold for more than $600,000 — setting a new world record for a women's sports card.

How to buy Panini's 'Caitlin Clark Chronicled' card set

Panini's limited edition Clark collection is currently available for purchase at Target stores and Target.com.

Tensions remain high between the WNBA and WNBPA, after The Athletic reported on Monday that the latest CBA proposal from Players Association more than doubles the league's revenue share offer — suggesting a deepening rift in negotiations.

The union outlined a deal that would give players around 30% of total WNBA and team revenue — a significant leap from the league's proposed 15% share.

According to sources, the WNBPA also suggested linking the salary cap to the previous season's total revenue, factoring in player benefits and the number of teams in the league.

The move intends to undercut an accusation from the WNBA that the players have yet to put forward an economically viable revenue sharing model.

The union's proposal begins at 29% of the prior season's total league grosses, then grows to 34% by the final year of the CBA with a one-time adjustment for the new 11-year, $2.2 billion WNBA media rights deal.

Notably, the league recently rejected a flat 33% revenue share CBA proposal, prompting this week's 1%-per-year increase system in response.

It's clear that the WNBA office and the WNBPA are at odds, but the union is showing their work as both sides strive for a CBA that will keep players on the court in 2026.

Olympic swimming icon Katie Ledecky has done it again, becoming the first woman to break the 15-minute mile with a time of 14:59.62 at her namesake Katie Ledecky Invitational in Maryland.

Smashing her own US record of 15:01.41, Sunday's sub-15 minute mile gives Ledecky the 1,650-meter freestyle's eight fastest times, with US teammate Erica Sullivan earning the ninth-best in 2019.

"This is a special one for sure," Ledecky said afterwards. "This has been a goal of mine, to break 15 minutes in the 1,650, for probably eight or nine years. So, just putting in the hard work, believing that I could do it someday, and to do it at this meet, is really special."

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The 28-year-old Washington, DC, product is the most decorated women's swimmer in the history of the sport, prompting Nation's Capital Swimming — where Ledecky got her start at age six — to name their annual event in her honor earlier this year.

"I definitely was a little nervous before the race, just knowing there were a lot of eyes on me and all that," she continued. "But I knew I could just relax and have fun with it, and whatever happened, happened."

How to watch Katie Ledecky in action

Ledecky's next major competition will likely be the TYR Pro Swim Series, which kicks off in Austin on January 14th, 2026.

The domestic competition series will be covered across NBC Sports platforms.