Teams are back in action following the international break and ready to make a push till summer break
By Sandra Herrera Apr 23, 2026 at 4:12 pm ET • 2 min read 
CBS Sports The NWSL returns from a break during the international window, and with it, club teams are high off momentum, and others are still trying to figure themselves out.
The teams sorting things out is where, sometimes, a break is necessary. Kansas City Current, with three consecutive losses, welcome back Temwa Chawinga with a solid 45-minute performance and get a win? Just what the soccer gods ordered, surely a break means they will now be lethal moving forward, but this is NWSL, so stay tuned.
There are some clubs that are on four matches or five games into the year, so some are closer towards the second quarter of the season than others.
If the reigning NWSL Shield holders are still ironing things out in Kansas City, then maybe it's less surprising that last year's NWSL Championship winners are in a similar mid-mode level. Gotham FC have struggled to generate scoring chances. With just two goals across five games, there haven't been many answers, though perhaps a tide will turn following the international window. U.S. women's national team midfielder Rose Lavelle returns to the club off a massive performance against Japan with two goals and one assist over two matches.
Fans can watch Gotham FC face Bay FC, Saturday on CBS (1 p.m. ET). Here's the viewing info:
How to watch Gotham FC vs. Bay FC on CBS
- Date: Saturday, April 25 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Place: Sports Illustrated Stadium -- Harrison, N.J.
- TV: CBS
- Stream: Paramount+
Schedule building
Defender Tierna Davidson reminded everyone why she's such a stabilizing presence on the pitch as she builds minutes for club and country, and Gotham will welcome her return against Bay FC. The east coast side will also welcome their newest acquisition, forward Guro Reiten, from Chelsea FC.
"It's always a tough choice deciding your future. But when I talked to Gotham, I liked the way they wanted to play football, the environment and the club. It had ambitions, and it looked like a challenge that I really wanted to try," Reiten said during her introductory press conference.
"The level is high. We have a lot of great players, a lot of talent here at Gotham. I can already tell. It's fast, it's intense ... But I'm just excited. I've heard a lot about the league and how tough it is and how every game is. Everyone can beat everyone. So that's going to be very cool to experience, and I'm really looking forward to that."
Still, a club's success shouldn't boil down to one player, whether that's Chawinga for Kansas City or Reiten for Gotham FC. Especially if there are teams that are showing that they're sneaky good this early in the season, like Houston and Denver, who were both unpredictable and tough to play against ahead of the break. Here's hoping the time away made them even more menacing.
If you're keeping track of power trends, here are my previous rankings. Now, onto the most recent rankings:
NWSL Power Rankings
Biggest Movers 2 Orlando Pride 1 Portland Thorns RkTeams ChgRcrd 1
San Diego Wave FC The Wave are handling teams who are contenders and figuring things out. Kenza Dali remains the crucial linchpin, but Ludmilla is back to scoring now, and Catarina Macario was officially announced ahead of the break. Watch out. 1 2 
Portland Thorns The Thorns left us with Sophia Wilson winning a penalty kick, and while she hasn't scored just yet, it's hard not to feel like it's not coming very soon. She looks like she hasn't been away on maternity leave. Dangerous times for everyone else. 1 3 
Seattle Reign It's official, long-time Reign player Jess Fishlock has announced she will retire following the NWSL season. Could be one of those things that the club and locker room rally behind, especially during a season where the Reign are building slowly but surely. -- 4 
Washington Spirit The break came at a good time for the Spirit and forward Gift Monday. Too lethal a player for the Spirit and needs little time to make an impact. If healthy, her presence could help open things up for Trinity Rodman. -- 5 
Orlando Pride There's no official injury update for Jacqueline Ovalle as of this ranking. She was carried off with a leg injury ahead of the break, and now Barbra Banda is returning from three games with Zambia. Still, Orlando's early identity this season is one of endurance, which makes them a dangerous side. 2 6 
Angel City FC Hopefully, the break made Angel City more powerful. The roster has shown they can defeat teams below or at their level but struggled against contenders in Orlando ahead of the international window. Gisele Thompson returns from impressive performances against Japan with the USWNT. 1 7 
NJ/NY Gotham FC A big thing Gotham have going for it right now is that a couple of teams are also struggling to generate consistent goal scoring. But being stingy on defense has helped, and sometimes a new player can shake things up in a good way; otherwise, it'll be a long season. 1 8 
Kansas City Current Croix Bethune has a chance to leave her mark against her former team this weekend, and if the break was good to Temwa Chawinga, the Current could finally turn a corner. -- 9 
Houston Dash Who will make an impact for the Houston Dash this weekend? Will it be Kiki van Zanten? Will it be rookie Kat Radler? Will it be goalkeeper Jane Campbell? It could literally be anyone, and that's the best part of Houston this year, so far. 1 10 
Denver Summit FC Denver are keeping things interesting against the league's top teams. They're looking more like a team that will compete and less like a lost expansion side, but eventually they'll need to turn close games into wins. 1 11 
Utah Royals FC The Royals seemed to finally be turning a corner ahead of the break, so hopefully they didn't lose too much of that momentum with the international window. They still need to stand out against more contending clubs, but Lara Prasnikar and Mina Tanaka can help with that. 2 12 
North Carolina Courage Ashley Sanchez was starting to turn it up a level before the international window, so hopefully she can slot right back in as North Carolina's difference maker alongside Manaka Matsukubo. 1 13 
Bay FC It's important to get those early wins in the season because eventually, everyone else starts to figure things out, too. Four games in and already one of the more streaky teams, so maybe the break came at a good time for the Bay. 1 14 
Racing Louisville FC That luster from last year's playoff appearance is starting to wear off for Louisville. Hopefully, some time off allowed the roster to regroup, and Sarah Weber and Emma Sears can help the team look ahead. -- 15 
Chicago Stars FC Chicago Stars fans will rejoice at Mallory Swanson back in light training with the club, but there's still some time to go till the star player gets back into form following her maternity leave. If the international break was helpful for Jordyn Huitema's hip injury, the Stars will have another attacking option back in the mix. -- 16 
Boston Legacy FC Struggling to score, struggling to get wins, struggling period. Sure, it's still early, but eventually the season will be too far gone to make any meaningful impact. -- Join the Conversation comments 
