Well, well, well. The Houston Dash are back in the playoff picture after looking adrift. Say hello to the NWSL's new comeback queens.

After a 2–1 comeback win over NJ/NY Gotham FC on Sunday, the Dash have now come from behind to snatch seven points in their last three games, including wins over the North Carolina Courage and Gotham. No team has stolen more points this season from losing positions than the Dash’s 11.

Gotham is eighth in the standings, which is the final playoff spot. So the win for the Dash cut the playoff gap to two points, and now only three points separate Gotham in eight from Angel City in 11th.

Of course, the other big story this NWSL weekend was all the draws. Five out of seven matches ended in a draw, after four matches ended in a draw last weekend. The parity in the league is coming to the foreground, and it's getting harder for teams to move up and down the Power Rankings.

While ties aren't always that much fun, take a moment to relish the Chicago Stars' comeback from 3–0 down to tie the Seattle Reign 3–3 with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher scoring the equalizer with one of the single greatest tap-ins you will ever see.

Here are your NWSL power rankings after Matchday 16.

14. Utah Royals (1-12-4) [Previous: 14]

The baby steps continue. Since the summer break, the Utah Royals are looking hard to beat and determined not to end the season as the league's doormat. The 0–0 with Angel City gave the Royals their first shutout since April and just their second of the season. Utah may be winless in 11 games, but this was another steely performance that showed they're not dead yet.

12. Chicago Stars (1-9-6) [Previous: 13]

Legendary goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher scored a 90th-minute equalizer to score her first-ever career goal on her 200th NWSL appearance! Yes, that's a real sentence. For that reason alone, it was tempting to move the Chicago Stars up more places in the Power Rankings after a sensational 3–3 draw with the Seattle Reign, where the Stars came back from 3–0 down. Interim manager Ella Masar, who will soon be replaced by new interim manager Anders Jacobsen before Martin Sjögren takes over next season, has done an admirable job making the Stars another never-say-die team. Truly the spirit of the NWSL.

12. Bay FC (4-6-6) [Previous: 12]

Bay FC are stagnating with injuries and lineup tweaks taking their toll. All season, the chance creation and goals have been huge question marks on this team. Without Abby Dahlkemper and Penelope Hocking, there's a big moment for Karlie Lema and Kelli Hubly to step into starting roles. This felt like a routine 2–1 defeat for Bay at home to the San Diego Wave, which is unfortunate.

11. North Carolina Courage (5-6-5) [Previous: 10]

The North Carolina Courage fought back from 1–0 down to snatch a 1–1 draw against the Portland Thorns, with former Thorn Tyler Lussi getting the rebounded equalizer. The Courage had a brilliant second half and put the pressure on the opponent, eventually dominating the contest. The Courage still feel a bit rudderless, but their ability to generate good attacking chances got a boost this week.

10. Houston Dash (5-8-3) [Previous: 11]

Simply a stunning set of results for Houston recently. For now, I’m resisting the temptation to surge them up the Power Rankings more than the two places over the last two weeks. The Dash benefited from one of the strangest own goals you will see in their 2–1 win in New Jersey on Sunday. And Michelle Alozie's winner was just the team's second attempt of the day. This is a huge vibes boost, but it is not sustainable for the Dash to be scoring six goals from five shots on target over the last three games.

9. Angel City (4-6-6) [Previous: 9]

That is now six games without a win since new manager Alexander Straus joined the team. In many ways, Angel City do not deserve to be as high as they are in the Power Rankings, and yet you can see this team has all the pieces to be much better than it is playing right now. An upcoming Thursday night home match against the Orlando Pride has be a high-level performance or this team will drop in the rankings.

8. NJ/NY Gotham FC (5-6-5) [Previous: 8]

On the one hand, Gotham were very unlucky to lose 2–1 to the Houston Dash, considering they only gave up two shots and one on target. On the other hand, Gotham didn't create much in the box after Esther scored her 11th of the season to put the Bats up 1–0. Under managerJuan Carlos Amoros, Gotham had never lost a game after leading 1–0 at halftime. So, in many ways, this was Gotham's usual game plan of sitting on a 1–0. Just, this time, it didn't work. No matter how unlucky Gotham was with the own goal, the team needs to score more goals and put games to bed.

7. Seattle Reign (7-5-4) [Previous: 7]

A bad few weeks for the Seattle Reign, who went from being one of the best defensive teams in the NWSL to having serious question marks. After Monday night's 3–3 with the Stars, the Reign have now conceded seven goals in two games after only allowing 13 goals in the first 14 games of the year. Sofia Huerta on the right side of a defensive back-three feels like a curious choice. While there is logic to dropping teenager Jordyn Bugg after one of her worst performances against the Portland Thorns, she has proven to be key to the Reign's structure.

6. Racing Louisville (6-6-4) [Previous: 6]

Jordyn Bloomer's ability to save penalties may be unmatched, but the exciting new goalkeeper struggled with the Washington Spirit's long-range bombs in the nation's capital this last weekend. A 2–2 on the road against the Spirit isn't a bad result at all for Louisville, but it is now back-to-back games where Racing have dropped two points in the final moments. That has to sting.

5. Portland Thorns (7-4-5) [Previous: 5]

A draw on the road is never a bad result, but the Courage have been vulnerable of late, and the Portland Thorns may well have targeted more than a 1–1. The way the Thorns play, they go after teams with a fluid crew of midfielders and forwards eager to create chances and kick on. That identity has clearly been working for this team, with Olivia Moultrie having a career-best season at 19 years old. However, the Thorns also look open at the back and there are question marks over who is the best goalkeeper on this team right now.

4. Washington Spirit (8-4-4) [Previous: 3]

Well, a 2–2 against Racing Louisville wasn't an ideal home result for the Washington Spirit. The quality of goals from Sofia Cantore and Rosemonde Kouassi was something special, but the Spirit somehow managed to make life very difficult for themselves outside of those moments of sheer quality. The arrival of new Italian forward Cantore is huge for this team, but with Trinity Rodman and Leicy Santos still working their way back into the team, the durability of the Spirit still seems like an issue.

3. San Diego Wave (8-4-4) [Previous: 4]

Making the move up the Power Rankings to number three, the San Diego Wave continue to be one of the most consistent teams in the NWSL. High possession numbers, a varied spread of scorers and an underrated defense when it comes to non-penalty big chances allowed. One defeat in the last 12 games, and this team feels like it is officially joining the elite along with the Spirit, Pride, and Current. Kenza Dali could well be on for a NWSL 2025 Best XI nomination, too.

2. Orlando Pride (9-5-2) [Previous: 2]

Another away team this week that went on the road with the mission of defending to its heart's content. And we should give credit to the Orlando Pride's defense, which, in this weekend's 0–0 draw, became the first team to ever shut out the Kansas City Current at their home field of CPKC Stadium. The bad news for the Pride was Barbra Banda leaving the game with an injury, but until we know more about that, it's hard to judge this team too much.

1. Kansas City Current (13-2-1) [Previous: 1]

It's taken 16 weeks, but the Kansas City Current have finally secured a draw. Still undefeated at home, if Bia Zaneratto sharpened her shooting in the box, then the Current likely would’ve beaten the Pride on Saturday. Despite a blank 0–0, this was still a game where players like Temwa Chawinga looked sharp even in a non-scoring game. She was maybe even the best defensive player on the pitch. The likely NWSL Shield winners are still the team to beat.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as NWSL Matchday 17 Power Rankings: Houston Dash Are the New Comeback Queens.