— Ron Rivera was among the spectators at the NWSL match between the North Carolina Courage and the Chicago Red Stars at WakeMed Soccer Park. Over the years, the Carolina Panthers head coach earned the nickname "Riverboat Ron" for his gambling style of in-game decision-making. Courage manager Paul Riley similarly rolled the dice Sunday. Unfortunately, Riley's gambit came up snake eyes.

The adjustments came too late for the North Carolina Courage, which trailed by three goals at halftime on the way to a 3-1 home loss to the Chicago Red Stars.

With team captain and center back Abby Erceg serving a red card suspension, Courage manager Paul Riley shifted Jessica McDonald — who became the career NWSL goal scoring leader two weeks ago — to a three-person back line alongside Abby Dahlkemper and Yuri Kawamura. It was McDonald’s first minutes in defense this season, facing a Chicago attack that includes Christen Press and Sofia Huerta. Meanwhile, Brazilian star Rosana was handed her first start since joining the Courage, positioned in attack with her countrywoman Debinha and Lynn Williams.

The Red Stars started as the aggressors, further buoyed by a careless Courage midfield. Chicago’s perseverance was rewarded in the 29th minute when Courage keeper Sabrina D’Angelo was whistled for a penalty after tripping Press in the area. Press deposited her ensuing kick from the spot for the 1-0 lead.

“The penalty was silly,” Riley said. “No reason to dive in that area of the field.”

North Carolina seemed to awaken upon finding itself trailing at home for the first time this year. But it was Chicago that doubled their advantage in the 37th minute when Huerta accepted service from Press, then ducked and turned around Dahlkemper before delivering a deft curler over D’Angelo’s outstretched mitt.

“I was getting marked up tight, and I came off the line a little bit,” Press said. “I had the ball at my feet and [Huerta] made a run in behind me, so I clipped it into her. She took touches in front of the defender and beautifully chipped it to the far post. It was a really nice goal.”

The Red Stars made it three just before intermission. D’Angelo saved Alyssa Mautz’s angled shot, then Mautz crossed the rebound center goal. The ball fell to Vanessa Dibernardo after two Courage players whiffed the clearance. DiBernardo deposited her one-touch shot past D’Angelo for a 3-0 cushion as the first half mercifully ended for the home side.

“Most likely,” McDonald said when asked after the match whether their formation was the difference between the first and second stanzas. “It’s just exciting that wherever [Riley] puts me, I can try and perform there. Regardless of the formation we play, we have to go out and perform.

“You could always say it was mistake,” Riley said. “We didn’t play well in the first half, and the back three got pulled all over the place in the first half. I thought the midfield was poor in the first half; second half, I thought they were good. We’ve done Jess in the back in preseason, so it’s not new to us. Obviously, [Erceg] was a big loss for us back there. Whether we play three or four in the back, we still have to be good enough.”

Press seemed to confirm that they were ready for the Courage to run out a three-person back line, as North Carolina had done in their two previous home matches against Portland and Orlando.

“We played against a three-back last week in Boston, and we didn’t solve it quickly enough,” Press said. “We made adjustments to solve that in the second half last week, and we were able to carry that over today.”

Riley pulled the plug on his experiment at halftime, subbing on Ashley Hatch and Taylor Smith for the second stanza, and shifting McDonald back to her familiar forward spot. He also dropped Debinha back to the number 10 instead of a front-right attacking position.

North Carolina got on the board on the 55th minute, when Lynn Williams caught up to a soaring Jaelene Hinkle cross, planting her running volley to cut the Red Stars’ lead to 3-1. But despite relentless pressure throughout the second half, the Courage couldn’t overcome the third goals they spotted the Red Stars during the first 45.

“We were a little slow in the first half,” McDonald continued. “We really couldn’t connect. We had a game plan and didn’t really go for it. I just think we really didn’t go out there as a team too much. We were fired up, but it didn’t look like it, and we didn’t feel like it.”

“I feel like this was a really good turning point for us,” Press said “ In the beginning of the year, people like to hype things up, like your offense isn’t producing, etc. Internally, we know what’s going on and what the group needs to build on to become the team we want to be at the end of the season.”

“We struggled in the first half and never got going,” Riley added. “We lacked energy and our press was out of sync. We’re just disappointed with the first half, and in the second half we readjusted things … In all fairness, [Chicago] was the better team today and deserved to win the game.”

Sports teams rarely welcome quick turnarounds, but Riley and the Courage (4-2-0, 12 pts.) appear eager to get back on the pitch at Sahlen’s Stadium this Wednesday, May 24 against Sky Blue FC. The Courage remain atop the NWSL table, and it hopes to rediscover their early season winning ways.

“I’m happy we have Wednesday,” Riley said. “We need to turn this around quick and get back on the field.”

BOX SCORE

LINEUPS

NC: D’Angelo, Dahlkemper, Kawamura, Hinkle, Doniak (Hatch, 46’), Mewis, Zerboni, Debinha (Hamilton, 73’), Rosana (T. Smith, 46’), McDonald, L. Williams

CHI: Naeher, Gilliland, Naughton, Johnson, Short, Ertz, Colaprico, Mautz (Green, 80’), DiBernardo (Comeau, 70’), Huerta, Press

GOALS

NC: L. Williams, 55’ (Hinkle)

CHI: Press, 30’ (PK); Huerta, 37’ (Press); DiBernardo, 45’

CAUTIONS

NC: ---

CHI: Short, 76’; Ertz, 90 + 2’

EJECTIONS

NC: ---

CHI: ---

ATTENDANCE: 4,786