Ranking of Teams as the 2015 Regular Season Continues
The 2015 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season continued with some exciting matchups and results. This season looks like it will be a difficult one to predict. The Washington Spirit, Portland Thorns FC and Chicago Red Stars came away with wins this past weekend. Sky Blue FC and the Houston Dash ended their match in a draw, keeping them both undefeated so far.
Western New York Flash came close to scoring many times during their match, but just weren’t able to finish, causing them to lose their second straight. FC Kansas City was also unable to convert in the second half and went home with no points. The Seattle Reign FC were in a tight match the entire time, but a sudden stoppage-time goal by Chicago’s Christen Press cost them a point. The Boston Breakers had their first bye-week of the season and will be back against the Dash this weekend.
The competition level is definitely rising this season, making it hard to decide on who will be the ultimate team to beat.
NWSL WEEK TWO POWER RANKINGS
#1 Portland Thorns FC, 2-0-0, 6 points
No Morgan? No Hollebeke? No problem. Winning their first two games, both at home, has the Thorns sitting on top of the NWSL standings. They have extended their home unbeaten streak to 6-0-1, which dates back to the 2014 season.
#2 Chicago Red Stars, 1-0-0, 3 points
A bye-week didn’t stop the Red Stars from competing hard and winning their season and home opener against the Reign. They’ll be looking to keep this edge as they take on the undefeated Portland Thorns in their second game of the season.
#3 Sky Blue FC, 1-0-1, 4 points
Don’t count Sky Blue out. They started off the season with a win over the 2014 NWSL champions and remained undefeated through the second week of the season. Strong momentum from the start of the match will keep Sky Blue in the game for the long run.
#4 Houston Dash, 1-0-1, 4 points
The Houston Dash are holding down the number two spot in the standings with back-to-back impressive performances from the entire squad. Finishing strong is key for the Dash when it comes to close matches.
#5 Seattle Reign FC, 1-1-0, 3 points
The Reign were stunned on the road this weekend against the Red Stars when a late goal from Christen Press gave Chicago the win. Seattle must regroup and come up with a new plan in order to remain on the top half of the standings.
#6 Washington Spirit, 1-1-0, 3 points
The Spirit looked like a different team this weekend when they came away with the win against Kansas City. If they continue to keep this performance up, they’ll be one tough team to beat.
#7 Boston Breakers, 0-1-0, 0 points
The Breakers had a bye-week this weekend and are looking to redeem themselves after a loss in the season opener when they host the Houston Dash at home in their second game of the season.
#8 FC Kansas City, 0-2-0, 0 points
The Blues just haven’t caught a break after two games this season. Key players will have to step up to make sure that the reigning NWSL champions don’t lose their playoff spot early on in the season.
#9 Western New York Flash, 0-2-0, 0 points
A rebuilding season for the Flash has them last in the standings, but there is still room for improvement. It may take longer than expected, but the Flash have new additions that can change the entire game.
