No one had Utah at the top of the table. Not one person. A team that was 12th a year ago, had only six wins, and was hardly on the radar at the preseason, is now nine games deep and is the top team. If that was on your bingo card, you are lying.
The Twist: Utah Royals Are Not Going to Quit
Caution is duly given to the fact that Utah has had only one real test against a playoff-calibre opponent, a 1-1 draw with Washington back in March, and the first to admit that the coach is Jimmy Coenraets. But you can beat what you see, and Utah has been doing just that with a mercilessness no one ever expected. Mandy McGlynn, who is a goalkeeper, has five consecutive clean sheets. Mina Tanaka is playing midfield strings. The back line has had 468 minutes of no goals. They have to play Portland in the lead-up to the World Cup break – that game will tell us all that we need to know.
Fading Famous: Kansas City Ugly Hangover
It was a year ago that Kansas City was unbeatable, 21wins, 65 points, and the Shield was secured with five games to go. The biggest regular season in the history of NWSL. Then, Gotham got rid of them in the quarterfinals, the coach went upstairs, and 2026 has served as a wakeup call. Three defeats during their first four games. The machine that hummed so fine around Temwa Chawinga is clumsy and uncomfortable. She is still Chawinga–she will always be Chawinga–but the machine about her is in desperate need of attention. Kansas City is not over, yet its halo is lost.
The Expansion Story: Denver Summit Is Indeed Good
Expansion teams are to suffer. Denver Summit didn’t read that memo. They are comfortably placed in the mid table, they have just won their first home win in history, and a player in them, Janine Sonis, who is gradually making a name. The Canadian international scored in consecutive matches, including a brace against Houston, and is just the type of seasoned and gritty leader a new team requires until it settles in. No one anticipated Denver to be this competitive that fast. They are.
The Gut-Punch: Jasmine Aikey Never Got Her Chance
This one stings. Jasmine Aikey came to Denver Summit as the most hyped rookie in the league – MAC Hermann Trophy winner, 21 goals her last season at Stanford, the type of player that only once every ten years you find. Five days before the home opener, she tore her ACL in her right knee during a U.S. Under-23 camp. Season-ending injury list. Concluded before she had played even a minute as a professional.
She attended the home opener, four days later, four days after the surgery, and sat in the stands. You toil so much to get certain things, and you are a bit like– oh, I never even had a chance to play a game yet, I told you, I never had a game yet. A player that fine, deprived of her debut season even before it began. NWSL is no big watch to it – and Denver will be clamoring to have her back in 2027.
The Bigger Picture
Second and dangerous is Portland. Washington reclaimed Trinity Rodman and is appearing as a real competitor. Gotham- just as usual, quiet of course- is unbeaten in five and prowling precisely as they were the day they won the whole thing last November. Meanwhile, Racing Louisville, who are considered the dark horses, have already managed to lose as much money as they did last year.
There are still two-thirds of a season to play. That is nearly a lifetime in this league. Hold onto your predictions loosely.
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