See where each team falls in the Week 16 edition of the Power Rankings.   1 NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE 14-1-3, 45 pts Change: — Last week: 1 Week 16 started with the Courage earning their 13th win of the season after defeating the Spirit 2-0 on Wednesday, and concluded with a 4-0 win over Sky Blue […]

See where each team falls in the Week 16 edition of the Power Rankings.1**

NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE

14-1-3, 45 pts**

Change: — Last week: 1 Week 16 started with the Courage earning their 13th win of the season after defeating the Spirit 2-0 on Wednesday, and concluded with a 4-0 win over Sky Blue FC on Saturday and a playoff berth. Lynn Williams scored a hat trick in the Courage’s 14th win of the season. The Courage are now 14-1-3 on the year with 45 points and became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2018 NWSL Playoffs. The Courage are also 16 points clear of the second-place Seattle Reign FC. If the Reign lose next week and the Courage win, they can have the NWSL Shield claimed before August. Since suffering their only loss of the season, 1-0 to Utah Royals FC, the Courage are on a five-game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 17-2. * * * 2**

SEATTLE REIGN FC

8-4-5, 29 pts**

Change: — Last week: 2 Seattle holds the second spot in the Power Rankings and the standings after going 1-1-0 in Week 16 action. The Reign started the week flying after Megan Rapinoe scored on a header in the 54th minute to earn her side a 1-0 result over Utah Royals FC. The Reign dropped their second match of the week to Chicago on a 87th minute goal from Sam Kerr. The Reign are 8-4-5 with 29 points and will meet the Orlando Pride, who are just one point behind them (8-6-4 28 points) in the league standings, on Saturday. * * * 3**

PORTLAND THORNS FC

7-5-5, 26 pts**

Change: — Last week: 3 Lindsey Horan scored a brace to lead the Thorns to a 3-1 win over the Houston Dash on Sunday night. Horan now has nine goals on the season and is tied with Chicago Red Stars forward Sam Kerr for the league-lead. The Thorns are in fifth place in the standings at 7-5-5 overall with 26 points. With the three points, the Thorns are now just two points behind the Pride and Red Stars, who are tied at 28 points and sitting in the last two playoff positions. The Thorns have a game in hand over those two sides and will look for their third-straight win on Saturday when they play Sky Blue FC. * * * 4**

CHICAGO RED STARS

7-4-7, 28 pts**

Change: ? 1 Last week: 5 Sam Kerr scored in the 87th minute, for her ninth goal of the season to give the Red Stars a 1-0 home win over Seattle Reign FC on Saturday. With the win, the Red Stars improve to 7-4-7 and 28 points in fourth place. This was the Red Stars second-straight win and will look to make it three-in-a-row when they return to action the following week vs. Sky Blue FC. * * * 5**

ORLANDO PRIDE

8-6-4, 28 pts**

Change: ? 2 Last week: 3 The Pride fell to the Houston Dash 3-1 to open up their Week 16 play and Marta was issued a red card at the very end of the match — but the Pride bounced back on Saturday, beating Utah Royals FC 2-1. With the 1-1-0 week, the Pride remain in third place in the league standings at 8-6-4 with 28 points. Kristen Edmonds scored her first goal of the season for the game-winner against Utah. It will be a No. 2 vs. No. 3 match-up in Week 17 as the Pride host Seattle Reign FC on Saturday. * * * 6**

UTAH ROYALS FC

5-6-6, 21 pts**

Change: — Last week: 6 Utah has now lost three-straight after dropping both of their Week 16 games. Utah first fell 1-0 to the Reign on Wednesday and then dropped three points to the Pride on Saturday. Utah are now 5-6-6 with 21 points in sixth place. Utah has a game in hand, but sit seven points behind the Red Stars and Pride who are both tied with 28 points. * * * 7**

HOUSTON DASH

5-7-5, 20 pts**

Change: — Last week: 7 The Dash earned a 3-1 win over the Orlando Pride on Wednesday and then dropped their second match of the week on Sunday falling to the Thorns 3-1. The Dash are 5-7-5 with 20 points and sit in seventh place. The Dash are eight points away from a playoff position and will hit the road in Week 17 to face the eighth-place Washington Spirit. * * * 8**

WASHINGTON SPIRIT

2-11-4, 10 pts**

Change: — Last week: 8 The Spirit dropped their only match of the week, falling to the Courage 2-0 on Wednesday fortheir fourth-straight loss. They are winless in their last eight matches and sit in eighth place in the league standings at 2-11-4 and 10 points. The Spirit have a chance to snap their winning drought when they face the seventh-place Houston Dash on Saturday. * * * 9**

SKY BLUE FC

0-12-3, 3 pts**

Change: — Last week: 9 Sky Blue FC fell to the league-leading North Carolina Courage in Week 16 and are now winless in 15 consecutive games. Sky Blue remain in last place in the league standings at 0-12-3 and three points. Sky Blue will next host Portland Thorns FC on Saturday.