It's Monday, and with another weekend of 2026 NWSL regular season in the books, it's time for ESPN's Power Rankings. Who's set for a climb up the table? Who's in danger of freefall? Our writers studied the action across Matchday 23 to come up with this week's order of all 16 teams in the league. Let's dive in.

1. NJ/NY Gotham FCPrevious ranking: 1Next match: vs. Angel City FC (Sunday, Oct. 4, 1 p.m. ET)Gotham FC beat the Chicago Stars 3-1 at home. It was an unsurprisingly dominant performance for the NWSL Shield favorites against the worst team in the league. Jaedyn Shaw scored a brace and became the youngest player to record 25 regular-season goals in NWSL history, while Sam Kerr also had a goal and assist in the win. Gotham's attack was rolling and, despite conceding a late goal, their third-straight win tightens the grip on the regular-season title with four games to go.

2. San Diego Wave FCPrevious ranking: 2Next match: at Orlando Pride (Friday, Oct. 2, 8 p.m. ET)The San Diego Wave beat Racing Louisville 2-0 on the road; another dominant performance from a top-of-the-table team. The Wave held nearly 60% possession against Louisville and recorded 2.94 expected goals on 20 shots, with nine of those on target. Gia Corley and Ludmila were the goal scorers, with goalkeeper Sandra Paños and the San Diego defense securing their second-straight shutout win. San Diego have won five of their last six match-ups.

3. Angel City FCPrevious ranking: 6Next match: at NJ/NY Gotham FC (Sunday, Oct. 4, 1 p.m. ET)Angel City beat the Washington Spirit 1-0 on the road. A late Maiara Niehues goal from outside the box secured the Angels all three points in a sloppy, back-and-forth match up. The Angels' defending was the star of the show, having edged the Spirit in tackles, interceptions, blocks, and total duels won. Angel City haven't lost in six games and have won three straight, which has powered them up the rankings this week.

4. Washington Spirit Previous ranking: 3Next match: at Houston Dash (Sunday, Oct. 4, 7 p.m. ET)The Washington Spirit fell to Angel City 1-0 at home. It was a wet, rainy, mess of a game that saw lots of transitional action and to be frank, a ton of turnovers. The Spirit managed just 0.62 expected goals on 16 total shots, with just two of those on target. Head coach Adrián González says his team weren't "clinical in the final third," which was putting this performance lightly. A concession just before the final whistle means the Spirit have lost six times at Audi in their last 13 home matches, and they have dropped one place in the ranking.