Kentucky’s NCAA tourney opener went to OT. Then a thrilling play saved the day.

The Kentucky men’s soccer team survived, then advanced.

Eythor Bjorgolfsson, a 6-foot-2 freshman forward from Norway, scored on a diving header 56 seconds into the second overtime to give the Wildcats a 2-1 victory over Loyola Chicago in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington on Thursday night.

Kentucky moves on to face eight-time national champion Indiana in a round-of-32 match at Bloomington, Ind., on Sunday. The Hoosiers, the No. 5 overall seed in the 48-team NCAA Tournament, received a first-round bye. UK and IU battled to a scoreless draw in Bloomington on Oct. 9.

Bjorgolfsson’s game-winning goal, in front of an announced crowd of 1,110, came just after the teams opened the second of two 10-minute overtime periods. Sophomore midfielder Robert Screen sprinted free with the ball down the right side and lofted a perfect cross into the box. Bjorgolfsson ran on to the pass just a few yards in front of the goal, dove and headed home the winner.

“I just needed a cross,” said Bjorgolfsson, who spent the first overtime period on the bench. “I felt confident that I would head it in.”

Kentucky was 1-0-3 in overtime matches this season heading into Thursday night.

The survival portion of the equation came earlier.

Kentucky (13-4-3) scored on a penalty kick to force overtime with just 8:33 left in regulation.

Loyola Chicago’s Justin Sukow knocked down UK’s Marcel Meinzer making a run on the right side of the box, yielding a whistle that no one disputed.

Jason Reyes fired his penalty kick into the back right corner of the net to tie the match at 1.

After a rain-soaked, foul-filled first half in which the Wildcats failed to take a shot, Kentucky fired at will in the second half, controlling play throughout. Kentucky shots hit the crossbar and right post, and the Cats forced Loyola keeper Marcel Kampman to make numerous saves. Kentucky got off eight shots in the second half and four more in the overtimes.

Loyola (11-5-4) scored its first-half goal 9:21 before halftime when Aidan Megally headed a corner kick to the feet of Andrew Mitchell, who slammed a shot past UK keeper Enrique Facusse.

Next match

Kentucky at Indiana

What: NCAA Tournament round-of-32 match

Where: Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium in Bloomington, Ind.

When: Noon Sunday

TV: Big Ten Network

Records: Kentucky 13-4-3, Indiana 14-2-4

Series: Indiana leads 25-2-4

Last meeting: Kentucky 0, Indiana 0, on Oct. 9 in Bloomington.

This story was originally published November 21, 2019 at 9:53 PM.