Super League Power Rankings – Week 29

Tampa Bay Sun rises to top two after late game-winner 

Tampa Bay Sun FC has found its way to third place in the Super League standings and in second place in this week’s Power Rankings. The Sun has now won three matches in a row and is unbeaten in its last four. The team is finding its stride with five matches to go in the regular season. 

Friday’s match against DC Power marked another gritty win for the Sun, which pulled out the result behind an 88th minute game-winner by Cecilie Fløe off the bench. The Danish international is now tied for first on the team with eight goals and leads the Sun in goal contributions (10). Goalkeeper Ashley Orkus also contributed to the clean sheet with five saves. 

Despite its recent form, Tampa Bay is not yet out of the woods. The upcoming match against Spokane is one to watch, as Zephyr earned a late win at Riverfront Stadium when the teams faced off last month. Tampa Bay will also take on No. 1 Carolina and No. 2 Dallas in May. With the playoff race still so tight, the team must earn results in the rest of its matches to secure a spot in the postseason. 

Rank		Team	Change	Summary
1		Carolina Ascent FC (12-5-7) Week 30: @ FTL	Last Week: 1	The Ascent continues to dominate, most recently extinguishing a red-hot Spokane Zephyr side in a 3-0 win last weekend. The team is not far from becoming the first to clinch a playoff berth, and it is extremely well deserved.
2		Tampa Bay Sun FC (9-5-9) Week 30: @ SPK	1 Last Week: 3	The Sun keeps finding ways to get it done. Tampa Bay has some of the top goal scorers in the league but also has so much depth that can come in and change the game off the bench. If it keeps up this form, it has the chance to lock in a playoff spot.
3		Dallas Trinity FC (10-6-7) Week 30: vs. LEX	2 Last Week: 5	Dallas rebounded off its previous loss to Spokane with a strong performance on both ends of the field last Saturday. The new additions of Athalie Palomo and Tamara Bolt have brought both speed and composure to Trinity’s attack that compliments the prowess we’ve already seen this season from Allie Thornton and Chioma Ubogagu.
4		Spokane Zephyr FC (8-8-7) Week 30: vs. TB	2 Last Week: 2	Zephyr started Week 29 with a strong 3-0 win over Lexington before ending on the other side of the same result against Carolina. Despite the loss, Spokane still has a lot of positives to take away from the week and should go into its next home match against Tampa Bay with a lot of confidence.
5		Fort Lauderdale United FC (9-6-7) Week 30: vs. CAR	1 Last Week: 4	While earning a draw at the Cotton Bowl against Dallas is not easy, Fort Lauderdale left two points on the table by not putting away multiple chances on Saturday. The team has been missing some of the clinical finishing it showed earlier this season, and it needs to find it ahead of its upcoming match against Carolina to stay above the playoff line.
6		Brooklyn FC (9-8-7) Week 30: vs. DC	2 Last Week: 8	Despite still not securing a win this Spring Schedule, last weekend was the first time in a while that Brooklyn battled back from a deficit to earn a result. The bright spots were Tori Hansen, who had a great performance in her first start with the team, and two great additions off the bench in Caroline Kelly and Ginger Fontenot.
7		Lexington SC (4-14-5) Week 30: @ DAL	Last Week: 7	Lexington went 0-1-1 in its two matches in Week 29 and is officially out of playoff contention. The team has seen various starting lineups and substitutions this spring, resulting in a lot of inconsistency across matches. However, it allows Lexington to experiment and see what pieces it needs to add heading into the offseason.
8		DC Power FC (3-12-7) Week 30: @ BKN	2 Last Week: 6	Friday’s match was another instance of DC not being able to put away chances and one poor defensive moment cost them a late loss against Tampa Bay. The loss resulted in DC being the other team eliminated last week, but it still has a match in hand over Lexington to have the opportunity to not finish last in the standings.