Utah
NWSL Power Rankings: Banda’s Pride No. 1, winless Utah sink
It’s Monday, and another week of NWSL action is in the books, which means it’s time for ESPN’s Power Rankings.
Who’s climbing the table? Who’s in free fall? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 4 to come up with this week’s order of all 14 teams in the league. Let’s dive in.
Previous ranking: 1
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Washington Spirit, 5 p.m. ET
Orlando are still the team to beat after defeating Seattle Reign 1-0 on Saturday. Orlando’s quality across multiple lines shined in Barbra Banda’s 41st-minute goal: Marta found left-back Kerry Abello, who then carried the ball to midfielder Summer Yates on the left wing. Yates then unbalanced Seattle’s defense on the dribble before slotting in a crisp assist to Banda, waiting patiently in front of goal. Orlando were outshot 13 to 7 (and 5 to 4 on target), but goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse (freshly returned from international duty with England) made five essential saves to keep a clean sheet and secure Orlando’s continued run at the top of the NWSL.
Previous ranking: 2
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Houston Dash, 7:30 p.m. ET
In what’s turned into a bit of a trend early this season, Kansas City scored their goals early (Debinha in the 16th minute, followed by Lo’eau LaBonta from the penalty spot), then stood firm defensively in the second half as they weathered San Diego’s attack. The Wave held 70% of possession and outshot Kansas City 7 to 0 in the second half, requiring Current keeper Lorena to make four saves (compared to Kailen Sheridan’s two) to walk away with a clean sheet.
Previous ranking: 3
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Orlando Pride, 5 p.m. ET
In their first game back from international duty, Jonatan Giraldez opted to rest Trinity Rodman and Leicy Santos in the first 45 as things stayed fairly even in Louisville. They both emerged for the second half and it didn’t take long for Santos to score a beautiful goal from a free kick to make it 1-0. Just over 15 minutes later, English defender Esme Morgan dropped a dime on Ashley Hatch’s head that the in-form striker (who became NWSL’s fifth-highest goal-scorer all-time just before the international break) scored to seal a 2-0 victory and finish the weekend on top of the golden boot race. Next weekend may not be so easy; they head to Florida to play the first-place Orlando Pride next.
Previous ranking: 4
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC, 10:30 p.m. ET
By beating Houston 3-1, Angel City ended the weekend as one of just three undefeated teams after four matchdays. Alyssa Thompson is in hot form: after setting up two goals in two games for the United States, Thompson returned to club duty by scoring her third goal of the year and collecting an assist. Angel City’s rookie class is also making their mark. Macey Hodge, 23, opened the scoring and Riley Tiernan, 22, made it 2-0 in the 29th minute, then went on to assist 20-year-old Thompson’s goal. In a game where all three goal scorers are under 23, it’s easy to get excited about Angel City’s fresh look this season. But they’ve got a challenging three weekends ahead: next up is Seattle at home. After that, they play first-place Orlando Pride and third-place Washington Spirit in back-to-back weekends on the road.
Previous ranking: 11
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Angel City, 10:30 p.m. ET
Gotham returned from the international break sitting toward the bottom of the table, with no wins and just one goal after three matchdays. But they came out firing against a floundering North Carolina Courage. Spanish forward Esther González netted a first-half brace, and rookie left-back Lilly Reale made it three before half-time in a resounding and sorely needed first win of the season.
Previous ranking: 5
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Racing Louisville, 3 p.m. ET
San Diego picked up a second-straight loss after falling 2-0 to Kansas City at home in California. However, first-place Orlando Pride and second-place Kansas City in back-to-back to weekends are a tough two games to handle, especially so early in the season. And neither result immediately reflects how well San Diego did in both performances. San Diego has the building blocks to have a stronger season, and there’s some easier challenges on the horizon: Louisville next, followed by Chicago Stars.
Previous ranking: 6
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Portland Thorns, 10 p.m. ET
Seattle also picked up a second-straight loss over the weekend. And like San Diego, it was against one of the best teams in the league: Orlando Pride. They held off the reigning champs and limited them to a 1-0 victory, with only Banda breaking through. Next up? They host their old friends from Portland.
Previous ranking: 12
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Seattle Reign, 10 p.m. ET
Portland still can’t figure out what kind of year they’re going to have (or who will score their goals this season). But they picked up their first win of 2025 in a 1-0 victory against the last-place Utah Royals. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress. Reilyn Turner, 22, scored her second goal of the year to seal it, marking just three goals in four match days for the Thorns, who averaged 2.2 goals a game when they won the Championship in 2022. They’ve got a Cascadia rivalry battle next weekend, and travel to Seattle with a lot of questions looming over the year.
Previous ranking: 7
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. KC Current, 7:30 p.m. ET
Houston picked up their second loss of the season in a 3-1 defeat to Angel City at home. They had their chances and certainly got the ball into the final third, but looked slightly deflated at times, and made sloppy mistakes that the visitors punished. Next up they hit the road to face second-place Kansas City at CPKC Stadium, where the hosts still have only lost one game in their history (and that loss came against 2024’s record-setting champions, Orlando Pride).
Previous ranking: 8
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. NC Courage, 7 p.m. ET
Bay was caught sleeping early against the Chicago Stars. Brazilian forward Ludmila, fresh from international duty, took no more than five minutes to score the first of two goals in a 2-1 loss to Chicago at home. If it wasn’t for Abby Dahlkemper’s goal-line heroics, it would have been three. With nearly 70% of possession but half the shots on target, Bay fans may wonder why their team didn’t produce more against Chicago. But the home team struggled to break open a compact Chicago once they’d fallen behind.
Previous ranking: 14
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Utah Royals, 9:30 p.m. ET
Brazilian forward Ludmila returned from the international break in fine form, putting two first-half goals (both assisted by Jameese Joseph) past a struggling North Carolina squad to help seal a 2-1 win in California. That’s the team’s first win of the year and brings their total goals tally up from one to three. Here’s hoping Ludmila keeps that form going, while coach Lorne Donaldson figures out more plans of attack.
Previous ranking: 10
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. San Diego Wave, 3 p.m. ET
Louisville lost 2-0 at home to the third-place Washington Spirit but produced more opportunities than the scoreline shows. They fired off more shots — though slightly fewer on target — than their visitors, forcing Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury to come up with a few big saves to keep a clean sheet. Despite their potential, they also finished the weekend with the fewest total goals scored (two) so far this season.
Previous ranking: 9
Next match: Saturday, April 19 vs. Bay FC, 7 p.m. ET
Things we didn’t expect: Sean Nahas’ Courage squad struggling this bad so early this season. North Carolina has all the tools to be a strong, playoff-bound team in 2025, but they still haven’t won a single game yet and only Utah sits below them in the standings. Spanish forward González put two first-half goals past them and rookie Reale added a third to make it 3-0 by the end of the first half in a 3-1 defeat in New Jersey.
Previous ranking: 13
Next match: Friday, April 18 vs. Chicago Stars, 9:30 p.m. ET
Utah held their own against Portland at home on Saturday, but fell 1-0 with a goal from Turner and finished the weekend in last place in the standings. Four weekends in, and they’ve yet to pick up a win, something only North Carolina has in common. Next weekend, they’ll host the Chicago at home in one of their easier upcoming tests despite the Stars’ fresh victory. If they don’t collect something from that meeting, the season could get quickly out of control.
Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.
BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.
After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.
Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.
“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.
An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.
Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.
Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.
Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.
“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”
When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.
An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.
In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.
Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.
Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.
In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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