5A boys soccer: Gaither prevails on penalty kicks

John Nardozzi's final save of the night was his biggest.

With Gaither holding a one-goal lead in the sudden-death phase of penalty kicks, Nardozzi made a diving stop to help the Cowboys beat host Port Charlotte 2-1 (5-4).

"It was about mid-range height and he laid out to make a great save," coach Eric Sims said.

Moments before Nardozzi's save, David Briggs hit what would prove to be the winning shot. Earlier in the match, Gaither ((16-4-1) scored on a first-half goal from Jordan See. Port Charlotte answered with 10 minutes to go in regulation.

"It was a lot more exciting than I would have liked it to be," Sims said. "We kept working hard as a team, but they had a couple players who were dangerous that gave us some problems. We had a lot of things going against us, but we were able to fight through it."

Keith Niebuhr, Times staff writer