For the first time since the NWSL regular season began on April 29, we are back with our Just Women’s Sports power rankings.

The first two weeks of the season have been chaotic, and that’s exactly what these rankings reflect. Wonky scheduling has left some teams playing one game while others play three in one week, contributing to tired legs and unexpected results. The expansion clubs’ stadiums have been electric, refereeing has come under fire, and the underdogs are so eager to prove doubters wrong that they’re beating some of the best teams from the Challenge Cup.

Taking into consideration both the Challenge Cup playoffs and regular-season performances, here are the first power rankings of the NWSL season.

12. Kansas City Current (0-2-0)

From the Challenge Cup semifinals to the bottom of the regular-season standings, the Kansas City Current have had a rough couple of weeks with two losses and no goals scored. In their most recent game against the Dash, they managed to keep 60 percent possession and outshoot Houston 15-9 despite losing 2-0. This team has ample potential, but they’ll have to start finishing their chances to live up to it.

11. Orlando Pride (1-1-0)

Finding some rhythm with players in new positions, the Pride claimed their first victory of the year against Angel City on Sunday. Megan Montefusco played in the six and Carrie Lawrence shifted to center back, helping hold down a backline that head coach Amanda Cromwell raved about. Their first regular season game produced a very different outcome, with Orlando falling to Gotham FC despite finishing with 50.5 percent of the possession and a 15-7 shots advantage.

10. NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-1-0)

Going from a 3-0 win over the Pride to a 4-0 loss to San Diego Wave FC is quite the swing for a team that is full of veteran experience. The midfield has been shaky lately, but head coach Scott Parkinson said after the Wave match that its’ the defense and attack that need work. Gotham, first in the league in assists and second in goals, will be put to the test against the Courage on Saturday.

9. Houston Dash (1-1-0)

The Dash had some unexpected adjustments to make after head coach James Clarkson was suspended ahead of the regular season based on initial findings in a joint investigation by the NWSL and NWSL Players’ Association. After a 1-0 loss to San Diego to open their season, the Dash struggled to maintain possession in their second match against the Kansas City Current. In the end, they added more numbers in the midfield and built enough momentum to come away with a 2-0 shutout.

8. Angel City FC (1-1-0)

The 2022 expansion club had an electrifying start to its regular season, defeating the eventual Challenge Cup champion Courage 2-1 in front of a sold-out crowd at Banc of California Stadium. In quite a turn of events, Angel City lost to Orlando, the bottom team in the Challenge Cup standings, in their second regular season match. The club boasts individual talent across its lineup with players like Jun Endo, Jasmyne Spencer and Christen Press, but they need more time to build chemistry and dominate consistently in this league.

7. Chicago Red Stars (1-0-0)

Playing just one regular-season match so far due to Challenge Cup scheduling, the Red Stars earned three points at home against Racing Louisville FC. Despite the 2-1 result, the club struggled to respond to Racing’s high pressure and stay in control of the game. The Red Stars were without some key players, including Challenge Cup leading scorer Mallory Pugh and forward Yuki Nagasato, who was ruled out with an illness just before the match.

6. Racing Louisville FC (0-1-1)

Results aside, Racing Louisville FC has not had a bad start to the season. They dominated Chicago with 61 percent of the possession and a 14-8 shots advantage in what turned out to be a 2-1 loss, and then they earned a point in a 2-2 draw with Challenge Cup No. 1 seed OL Reign. They’ve succeeded so far at applying pressure and forcing giveaways. Against Chicago, they broke two league records with 47 total crosses and 43 crosses from open play. Alyssa Naeher and Phallon Tullis Joyce are two of the best goalkeepers in the league, but that will only get them so far if they don’t improve their finishing in front of net.

5. OL Reign (0-1-1)

The Reign have taken the hit for a lot of the problems that have plagued the NWSL lately, from poor scheduling to questionable calls. They then had overcome physical fatigue to play three games in one week while other teams, like Portland and Chicago, had just one. They came close to a win in the Challenge Cup semifinals, but lost after two rounds of penalty kicks and Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury’s heroics. The Reign still have plenty of time to recover and play like the team that earned the top seed out of the Challenge Cup group stage.

4. Washington Spirit (1-0-0)

The Spirit’s 20-game unbeaten streak came to an end Saturday in the Challenge Cup championship game. An emotional 90 minutes of physical play and multiple injuries, the match was not necessarily an accurate representation of what the Spirit are capable of. On any other day, Washington’s creativity on the attack can be lethal, such as in their two wins over OL Reign ahead of the final. When midfielder Ashley Sanchez has the ball, good things usually happen, but it took them a while to find that rhythm on Saturday.

Art from all angles 🎨@kerolinnicolii | #CourageUnitesUs pic.twitter.com/SpfC7DfRNP

— NC Courage (@TheNCCourage) May 8, 2022

3. North Carolina Courage (0-1-0)

After an unexpected 2-1 loss to Angel City in their regular season opener, the Courage outlasted the defending NWSL champions in the Challenge Cup final. The attacking duo of Kerolin and Debinha showed why they will give other teams nightmares this season. New to the NWSL, Kerolin has mastered the art of setting up goals and drawing penalty kicks in the box. Days after Kerolin was named Challenge Cup Finals MVP, Debinha earned tournament MVP honors. The veteran leadership of players like Abby Erceg, Meredith Speck and Merritt Mathias has helped establish a winning standard in North Carolina.

2. Portland Thorns FC (1-0-0)

It might seem unfair that the Thorns are in second after playing only one match since April 30, but a 3-0 shutout over the Current, the Challenge Cup semifinalists, shot them up the power rankings. The Thorns dominated in the match, outshooting Kansas City 19-5 and setting a league record for the most shots in the first half of a regular season match (10). They reached that mark even without star forward Sophia Smith on the field until the second half.

1. San Diego Wave FC (2-0-0)

The 2022 expansion team is wasting no time in living up to the NWSL’s #CueTheChaos slogan. The Wave have gone from the second-most losses in the Challenge Cup to the most wins so far in the regular season. Outside of the improvements they need to make in the midfield, they’re getting used to each other’s strengths quickly and showing why they could be serious contenders this year. This week, they dominated preseason favorite Gotham FC as Alex Morgan became just the third player in league history to score four goals in one game.

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

Concerns over faulty NWSL officiating again took center stage this week, after Sunday's 3-3 draw between the Portland Thorns and Racing Louisville FC saw a league-record 41 fouls called — with only one card handed out in regulation.

In the chippy, physical showdown, Louisville took a 3-1 first-half lead only to see it shortened to 3-2 after referee Corbyn May awarded Portland a penalty kick just before halftime. Portland then drew level with another converted penalty, this one awarded late in second-half stoppage time.

Angered by May's controversial calls, Racing Louisville's Ary Borges garnered a post-match red card for dissent after confronting the officials on the field.

"I do think that match can't keep happening in this league. I think it's embarrassing — it alters the match, it alters the sport," said Portland's Jessie Fleming after the game, remarking on Louisville's aggressive play and the officials' lack of response.

"It's embarrassing for the league, and I think it's embarrassing for Louisville as a club, and very frustrating for us as players."

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Following the match, Borges apologized for her outburst via social media, going on to note, "I'm not much of talking about referees because they are things that are beyond our control but what happened today in the match was a shame."

"For those who had two questionable penalties and spent the whole game throwing themselves in and around the penalty box, please take a moment to reflect and not talk about my team," she continued, accusing the Thorns of contributing to the issue by over-selling fouls.

With the puck dropping on the league's second postseason next week, the PWHL unveiled the Minnesota Frost's 2024 Walter Cup championship rings on Monday.

The reveal came as part of the league's multi-year partnership announcement with Paris Jewellers Canada, a family-owned jewelry brand that the PWHL has tapped to create its championship rings for years to come.

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In order to personalize the championship jewelry, the design of the 2024 title-winning rings included input from inaugural victors Minnesota.

Fashioned from sterling silver, the rings feature an image of the Walter Cup. Surrounding the trophy are 74 diamonds, in honor of the goals scored by the team throughout their first season, as well as 18 purple amethyst stones representative of the squad's total 2023/24 wins.

The rings also bear inscriptions of the May 29th, 2024, championship game date and 3-0 winning score, the Frost's "Win One Game" motto, and each athlete's name and jersey number.

The champs received their rings in a private celebration on Sunday.

"This group will always carry the honor of being the first team in PWHL history to win the Walter Cup," said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield.  "Now, we will forever have these special championship rings that encapsulate the journey to the top."

With the 2024/25 PWHL regular season closing on May 3rd, the Frost are locked in a battle with the Boston Fleet and Ottawa Charge for the two remaining playoff spots.

For a shot at defending their 2024 title, Minnesota must win their final two games by defeating both Ottawa and Boston this week.

Though rolling blackouts across the region suspended play at the 2025 Madrid Open on Monday, many top US talents are working their way through the clay court competition to great success.

World No. 4 Coco Gauff dispatched Switzerland's No. 42 Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2 in Monday's Round of 16, exiting the court just before the arena lost power.

"I feel like, at this point, this is only a situation you can laugh at if I was on court," Gauff said after her post-match interview was cut short by a deadened mic. "Because it's probably not going to happen ever again, and we'll always remember the day the power went out at Madrid Open."

Gauff next faces No. 7 Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, where a win could see her swap places with the now-ousted Jessica Pegula in the WTA rankings to reclaim No. 3 — and resume her title as the highest-ranked US player.

The rest of the Round of 16 resumed early Tuesday morning, with fellow US star and world No. 5 Madison Keys taking down Croatia's No. 21 Donna Vekić 6-2, 6-3 before No. 2 Iga Świątek eked out a win against No. 13 Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4.

Keys and Świątek will now square off in the quarterfinals — their first meeting since Keys upset the Polish star in January's Australian Open semifinal.

How to watch the 2025 Madrid Open quarterfinals

The 2025 Madrid Open quarterfinals kick off at 4 AM ET on Wednesday. Coverage of the tournament will continue to air live on the Tennis Channel.

The NWSL has submitted a formal application to US Soccer to launch a Division II league in 2026, with CBS Sports first reporting the league's move to strengthen player development in a shifting domestic landscape early last Friday.

Similar to the academy system overseas, the lower league would serve as both a testing ground and feeder system for the top-flight NWSL, keeping talent in-house while also providing professional resources and competition.

Eight NWSL clubs — North Carolina, Kansas City, Louisville, Gotham, Orlando, Bay FC, Seattle, and Washington — will participate in the second-tier league's inaugural year. The NWSL intends for all clubs to join within Division II's first four years.

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Rapid growth reflects increased demand for women's soccer

Pro sports in the US have long relied on the NCAA to prepare future prospects, but with more young players forgoing NCAA soccer to sign pro contracts directly — not to mention the abolishment of the NWSL draft last season — new leagues are emerging to meet the development demand across North America.

Division I operations like the USL Super League and Canada's Northern Super League offer fully professional opportunities, while the amateur-focused WPSL will launch its own second-tier league, WPSL Pro, in 2026.

That said, the NWSL's Division II league would be the only secondary system sharing ownership, infrastructure, and staffing with top NWSL sides.

According to The Athletic, the NWSL has yet to agree upon full details for the new venture, with the submission primarily intended to meet a sanctioning deadline.

Should the application prove successful, club soccer in the US will see a rapid expansion, growing from a single pro league in 2023 to two Division I and two Division II leagues by 2026.