TURNER — Although Gardiner entered Wednesday with two wins and Leavitt without a victory, it was clear as their KVAC boys’ soccer game unfolded that little separated the two teams.

Ultimately, though, what likely helped the Tigers emerge victorious Wednesday was the fact that they already had two wins and the Hornets were still desperate for their first.

Chris Kimball’s took an indirect kick from Nick Berlew and headed it over Leavitt goalie Cooper Legee 32 seconds into the second overtime to give Gardiner a 1-0 win over Leavitt.

“I went to overload the left side and I saw the ball coming up and I sought after it,” Kimball said. “I saw the goalie coming out so I tried to put it over him and I got under it.”

“Nick is a striker who usually hits a decent ball and Kimball took care of his chance,” Gardiner coach Casey Johnson said. “He had three chances earlier but he finished well.”

Leavitt (0-8), which played more aggressive than Gardiner (3-5) from the start, had many chances, including a golden one in the first overtime, but couldn’t take advantage.

“Right from the beginning of the first half, we played great, and we really controlled it,” Leavitt coach Isaiah Davis said. “Late in the game, we were still playing really hard, but we were pressing. Almost all of the touches we were hitting too hard. You just start pressing and you can’t finish them when you could have.”

“There were plays where we had somebody in the slot where we could have split them with a through ball and we just hit it too hard into the goalie,” he added. “Normally, we make that pass, but they’re so fired up.”

The Hornets’ best chance came following the scoreless regulation. Late in the first five-minute OT, Korey Mulherin raced down the left wing and beat a Gardiner defender, then passed off to a wide open Mason White streaking down the middle, leaving him with only Gardiner goalie Caleb Smith (six saves) to beat. White’s shot from about 20 feet sailed over a charging Smith but continued over the crossbar.

Both teams had chances to end it inside the final two minutes of regulation. White and Gardiner’s Jason Ledoux both had uncontested shots from the right wing, but both went too high and wide toward the near post.

Leavitt went into the game having yielded nearly six goals per game on the season but Gardiner had been on the wrong end of three shutouts and scored no more than one goal in each of its other four contests. In hopes of continuing their offensive frustration, the Hornets’ defense was determined to keep the Tigers’ quality chances to a minimum.

“The thing that we worked on in practice (Tuesday) was not letting people have uncontested shots,” Davis said. “In the first half, there were four or five times where they lined up and we just got a foot or a knee in there or slid under the ball, and it made a difference.”

The Hornets had their share of frustration on offense, too. Alec Randall had had a shot kick off the right post midway through the first half. Ten minutes into the second half, Josh Chouinard aimed for the top left corner but was denied by a leaping Smith. Randall had a header go over the crossbar moments later.

Gardiner outshot Leavitt, 16-12, and held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. Their last corner kick by Joe Coughlin produced a close call in front of the net, but Legee (nine saves), who was outstanding in net, recovered quickly during a scrum in front of the net and preserved the tie with nine minutes left.

“Today was the hardest we’ve played, by far,” Davis said. “If we keep playing like this, we’ll win games.”