Kelsey Dinges raced toward her leaping teammates with her hands covering her face.

Like the Tennessee Volunteers’ home crowd, which went from standing and applauding to sitting with disbelief in a matter of moments, the RedHawks midfielder was shocked.

“All I could think was, ‘Oh my gosh,’ ” she said.

Nine seconds stood between the No. 24 RedHawks soccer team and elimination.

Facing a 2-1 deficit in the closing seconds of regulation, Dinges lofted a shot that just found back of the net to force overtime.

Midfielder Kayla Zakrzewski scored the game-winner, solidifying the RedHawks’ heart-stopping 3-2 win over Tennessee (14-5-3) on Sunday in the first round of the NCAA women’s soccer tournament.

The win advances the RedHawks (20-2-1) to play Duke in the second round on Friday in Charlottesville, Va.

The win also sets a school record for most in a season with 20 and extends Miami’s unbeaten streak to 16 straight matches.

“I don’t know. I really don’t think I can describe it,” RedHawks coach Bobby Kramig said. “This team has been built on belief in each other all year long.”

Four minutes into the overtime period, Zakrzewski corralled a Dinges pass and tucked it just inside the right post.

“I wasn’t ever concerned,” Dinges said. “Our offense is always very consistent and we always press hard. I knew we’d get it done.”

The Lady Vols commanded an early 1-0 lead in the 26th minute, but the nation’s 10th best offense wouldn’t let the deficit stand for long.

Katy Dolesh got her head on a Jess Kodiak corner and punched it past the diving Tennessee goalkeeper just a minute after the Lady Vols’ go-ahead score.

“We stayed calm, we really did,” Zakrzewski said. “We have faith in our offense and just kept it together.”

Making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2002, Kramig couldn’t put words to the win.

“I don’t think we are going to sneak up on anyone any more,” Kramig said. “It really is unbelievable. I don’t know what else to say. But it doesn’t matter who we play anymore. We are just going to enjoy the ride.”