Braden Erksa wouldn’t let go of the ball, and Seamus Foley wouldn’t let go of him, either. Every inch of space mattered early in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s quarterfinal in the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament, and so as Erksa rolled to the crease, looking to bolster Maryland’s slim lead over Georgetown, Foley hooked him with his 6-foot pole.

Erksa looked stuck. For a moment, the junior attackman tried to wriggle free, like a fish caught in a net. As an official threw a flag on Foley, Erksa kept cradling the ball, unwilling to cede his ground just steps from the goal. The best escape plan, Erksa realized, was to go nowhere. He collected his feet, absorbed one last whack from Foley and, with no windup, forced a low-angle shot on goal that rippled the net.

“Braden’s awesome,” Terps coach John Tillman said afterward. But he added: “We’re still trying to figure him out a little bit.”

Second-seeded Maryland (13-3), headed to its Division I-record 30th Final Four after a 9-6 win over Georgetown (12-5) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, knows what it has on defense. Less predictable is its attack.

Leading scorer Eric Spanos, one week after scoring a career-high six goals in a win over Air Force, was held to one goal and one assist Sunday. Fellow attackman Daniel Kelly had two goals for the second straight game. That left Erksa, a former Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year who’s searched for consistency over his time in College Park, to figure things out before the Hoyas could figure him out.

What Maryland needed, he delivered. Before an announced crowd of 17,721, Erksa finished with four points and just one turnover, his first hat trick in a month helping the Terps to book another Memorial Day weekend trip.

Maryland will face sixth-seeded Syracuse on Saturday in the semifinals at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Terps beat the Orange 11-7 in College Park in February despite an uneven outing from Erksa (two points and four turnovers).

“We love him to death,” Tillman said. “He’s so dedicated, and he’s so darn talented. ... He’s always putting in extra work. He really cares a lot. And there are flashes like today where he can just do things that you’re like, ‘Holy crap, you just can’t coach that.’ Because he’s so bouncy. He’s fast. And, in games like this, that can make the difference.”

The margins Sunday were slim throughout. Maryland led for much of the afternoon but never by more than two goals until the game’s final minutes.

Long-stick midfielder Jack McDonald said the Terps knew they were in for a “rock fight.” That was probably better than the alternative. The Hoyas had beaten sixth-seeded Duke the week before in a shootout, 16-12. Over their five-game winning streak, they’d averaged nearly 18 goals per game.

Maryland, forced to juggle preparations for both final exams and star attackman Aidan Carroll (three points), had answers. Georgetown was scoreless in the first quarter and limited to two goals after halftime. Maryland star goalkeeper Logan McNaney stopped 11 of the Hoyas’ 17 shots on goal, his 14th game this season with double-digit saves.

“Logan’s incredible,” McDonald said. “I think, as a defense, we know that, if you give him certain shots, he’s going to eat it up all day. So he’s just a calming presence. A guy who’s been in this spot many, many times. So you can kind of just always rely on him, and when you get to the fourth quarter in a tight game, I don’t think he blinked twice.”

McNaney’s most important save might’ve come long after Erksa had shaken free of Foley’s checks and given Maryland a 7-5 lead early in the fourth quarter. With less than four minutes remaining and Georgetown trailing 8-6, Hoyas midfielder Lucas Dudemaine got open on the crease and tried to shovel a low shot past McNaney. But McNaney matched his stick and pounced on the rebound.

Just over a minute later, Kelly scored the game’s final goal.

“It was just about staying patient,” Kelly said. “The ball will always find you, and it found us late in the game. And I’m proud of Braden. I thought he played great today, and we needed it.”