If the temperature is cooling off, that's just Autumn in the air and not the 2026 NWSL regular season. The final stretch of the season is heating up, with only one team eliminated from playoff contention and the NWSL Shield still up for grabs, with just five games remaining in the season. That means it's the perfect time to dive back into weekly NWSL Power Rankings.
So if you're trying to keep track of where your favorite team lands, here are my previous rankings. Power isn't just for teams competing for the NWSL Shield; it's also for those pesky playoff-line-hovering teams. Denver Summit may sit just outside the playoff picture in the standings; anyone who's watched the Summit over the past month would hardly count this team out.
That's why they got a big boost in the power rankings this week. The place where even those on the outside looking in can make a statement to the rest of the league. The Colorado expansion side has turned Centennial Stadium into a tough place to play and is currently riding a five-game unbeaten streak into the final weeks of the season, proving that an "inaugural campaign" doesn't exactly have to just mean a building year.
Right now, they're within striking distance of the playoff line, but in the rankings? They're among the upper half. A huge reason is defender Janine Sonis.
The Canadian international earned a recent call-up for the October window, and she's put together one of her best individual club seasons. Her 15 goal contributions, with 11 goals and four assists, have pushed her into the spotlight when it comes to team scouting and among the top five in the Golden Boot race. An outside back putting up those kinds of attacking numbers is hard to ignore, and she's making the most of her place in manager Nick Cushing's system.
But just like the league standings, anything can happen in the power rankings, so the final match weeks will reveal whether Denver's surge is destined for more, or too little too late. Denver isn't the only club finding its footing at the right time, either. Angel City FC is punching above its weight in the power rankings and league table.
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