© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
A little bit of National Women’s Soccer League history is about to go down at the end of this season. Three teams have started a season 4W-0D-0L, and all three — the 2014 Reign and 2017/2018 Courage — won the Shield. But with the Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current both matching the 4-0-0 start, at least one of them will buck the trend and not turn it into a Shield.
Meanwhile, the Courage and Royals remain winless — and searching.
The cream of the crop
Orlando Pride (4-0-0, 12 pts; @ Reign, 1-0): The Reign tried some different wrinkles against the Pride — and to a large extent they worked. And yet, the double holders still worked out a 1-0 win on the road. Barbra Banda needed just a sliver of space to convert the only goal and the defense held up under more pressure than they have felt all season. The only downside was Summer Yates having to be helped off after being stepped on following her assist to Banda.
Kansas City Current (4-0-0, 12 pts; @ Wave, 2-0): The first step toward beating the Current is to try and get through the opening onslaught. They have had goals on the board within 25 minutes in three of their four games, the exception being on the road to the Spirit. Debinha looks like her old North Carolina self. The eye test says they’ve been the league’s best team so far.
The false 9
Washington Spirit (3-1-0, 6 pts; @ Louisville, 2-0): Did Jonatan Giráldez play possum in the first half in Louisville knowing the Racing side was largely incapable of creating much attack? Is Leicy Santos’ free kick proficiency enough that it will make teams think twice before fouling around the box? Is Croix Bethune ever coming back?
Looking to join the upper echelon
Angel City FC (2-0-2, 8 pts; @ Dash, 3-1): Possibly more than any team this side of Kansas City, Angel City are getting strong performances from the players they were counting on. Alyssa Thompson was fantastic against the Dash and Angelina Anderson is back to being a very good, shot-stopping goalkeeper now that she is rarely being asked to play with her feet. We may learn a lot about this squad when they welcome Gotham to BMO on Friday night.
NJ/NY Gotham FC (1-1-2, 2 pts, vs Courage, 3-1): Sure the Courage have issues, but there must have been a sigh of relief in New Jersey after an authoritative victory. Esther scored twice, Midge Purce returned after more than a year rehabbing an ACL and Gotham became the first team to out-possess the Courage in more than two years. A tricky road trip looms with matches Friday at Angel City and then Tuesday in Portland.
Giving the top sides some trouble
San Diego Wave FC (1-2-1, 4 pts; vs Current, 0-2): The second half against the Current proved that it is indeed possible to carry play against the undefeated side. It did not produce any goals, but it was a solid adjustment after falling victim to the Current’s usual transition play for the first 45. The Wave may have only four points but this is a young team with a new coach that was asked to play the Pride and Current over the opening four games.
Seattle Reign FC (1-2-1, 4 pts, vs Pride, 0-1): How much do we think Laura Harvey wishes the Orlando game had come a few weeks later? That would have given her club just a bit more time to gel and to possibly have Jess Fishlock in midfield. They did get a half from Lynn Biyendolo and her impact was evident despite not leading to either a goal or a result.
The Sphere of Mediocrity
Portland Thorns FC (1-1-2, 5 pts; @ Royals, 1-0): Winning in Utah comes with an asterisk these days, but a win is a win, and this is now two straight clean sheets kept by the Thorns. This one was Bella Bixby’s after Mackenzie Arnold was injured over the international break. It was Bixby’s first appearance since the fall of 2023 and her first match, win and shutout as a mom.
Bay FC (1-2-1, 4 pts; vs Stars, 1-2): Too many early mistakes and turnovers led to a 2-0 deficit against the heretofore bottom team on the table, and a second half turnaround was not enough to overcome it. The return of Emily Menges in back was more scattered than expected, and it may be time to issue an APB (All Points Bulletin) for production from Racheal Kundinanji and Asisat Oshoala.
Houston Dash (1-2-1, 4 pts; vs Angel City, 1-3): The 3-1 loss to Angel City can only be considered a step backward. We’ll give a small dispensation due to Avery Patterson’s freak eye injury suffered with the U.S. The home loss means the Dash have taken a single point from a possible nine so far at Shell Energy. Injuries, opponents and other ancillary factors aside, that is something that must change in Houston if this club is going to jump into regular contention.
Swimming upstream
Chicago Stars FC (1-3-0, 3 pts, @ Bay, 2-1): The brutal losing streak — the last three games of 2024, first three of 2025 — is over thanks to the Jameese Joseph-Ludmila combo that created a pair or early goals. Playing from the lead was a boon for the Stars, and once Sam Staab is able to contribute a full 90 that should have several residual affects.
Racing Louisville FC (1-2-1, 4 pts; vs Spirit, 0-2): Not much going on here. The Spirit bided their time before landing two goals and Racing had little to offer in response. They are missing Bethany Balcer and Savannah DeMelo, and the reality is that they don’t feel like a team capable of getting results against the upper echelon.
North Carolina Courage (0-2-2, 2 pts; @ Gotham, 1-3): Malia Berkely was injured in warmups and forced out of the lineup. That surely didn’t help, but it was far from the only issue on a day that can’t be considered anything besides poor for the Courage. The addition of Jaedyn Shaw has yielded zero results so far and it is time to wonder if we didn’t give the Narumi Miura departure enough weight in preseason. The alarm bells are ringing.
Utah Royals FC (0-3-1, 1 pts; vs Thorns, 0-1): Through eight halves this season, the Royals have looked awake for two of them. The second half against the Thorns was one of them but it rarely led to quality chances. The best of them were squandered by Brecken Mozingo in her first start of the season. Mina Tanaka is out of the lineup for the next several weeks. A team with high preseason hopes now feels like the league’s worst.
The Expansion Sisters
Denver: Jen Millet is the first employee for the new club in Denver. The Bay FC COO is heading back to her hometown to be club president. Millet graduated from Cherry Hills High School, part of the district partnering with NWSL Denver on their training facility and temporary venue.
Miscellany
My personal pet-peeve watching games this season is the insistence on wide camera shots during play. For one, I want to be able to see who is who without help from the announcers of a set of binoculars. At one point Friday night in Utah, the camera was so wide that more than half my screen was showing empty grass and empty seats at America First Field. I’m not asking for closeups of who is on the ball, but I’m also not looking for a coach’s tape.
