A frustrating loss for the Switchbacks and their fans came down to the final play.

Colorado Springs captain Luke Vercollone rifled his tying penalty-kick attempt over the Real Monarchs Salt Lake crossbar and the hosts fell 1-0 despite outshooting the visitors by a 23-7 margin.

Vercollone covered his face in frustration for a few moments as the visitors (5-7-4) celebrated before a stunned crowd at Switchbacks Stadium.

“We needed Luke to make the play there but he just missed,” coach Steve Trittschuh said.

It had looked like the 7-4-2 Switchbacks, losers of two straight, were going to salvage a tie in the 96th minute despite being down a player for the final 37 minutes, including six minutes’ stoppage time.

It should not have come down to the final play. Only eight of the Switchbacks’ 23 shots were on net, where goalkeeper Eduardo Fernandez stopped them all for the shutout.

“We need to be ruthless in front of their net,” Trittschuh said.

Colorado Springs had ample opportunities to seize control in the opening half with 12 shots (six by forward Saeed Robinson) but only three needed to be saved by Fernandez. Robinson came close to scoring three times with shots going wide of the right post; but he certainly wasn’t the only one misfiring.

A flurry in front of the RMSL net saw the ball carom off the post and away in the 90th minute on a header by Nate Robinson.

The offensive struggles proved fatal after a defensive breakdown allowed Elder Torres to step between two Switchbacks defenders and score in the 24th minute for a 1-0 lead.

“Frustrating is an understatement,” defender Josh Suggs said. “We created so many opportunities to score. We easily could have been up 4-5 goals but we weren’t ruthless in front of (their) net. It isn’t a mental thing. It’s just a matter of doing it.”

The Switchbacks have scored four goals in their past five USL games (1-2-2), prompting Trittschuh to consider signing some more forwards. It is unlikely they will arrive before the 7 p.m. Wednesday rematch between the two clubs in Colorado Springs (5-1-1 at home). But he hopes it eventually shakes his team out of its rut.

“It got the guys we have going a bit last year so I am looking around,” he said.

Red cards Sunday for Colorado Springs center defender Christian Ibeagha (69th minute) and RMSL defender Tyler Arnone (95th) means neither will be available to play Wednesday.