Maryland's Mike Chanenchuck.

By Julian Benbow, Globe Staff

FOXBOROUGH -- Drew Snider personally dug the hole for Duke and when it seemed like his Maryland Terrapins were daring the Blue Devils to climb out of it, Snider kicked them back down.

His scored a career-high four goals as the Terrapins eliminated the Blue Devils 16-9, advancing to NCAA title game for the second time in as many seasons.

Snider strung three straight scores together from the end of the second quarter the middle of the third, setting the tone for Maryland's relentless offense.

He struck first with 13.4 seconds left in the second quarter, putting Maryland up 7-4 going into the half. He tacked on two more in the third, giving him his fourth career NCAA hat rick, giving the Terps a 9-4 lead.

The Blue Devils looked like shells of themselves for nearly three quarters. Even when they started to shake out of it, with Justin Turri (two goals) and Josh Offit (one) responding to Snider's third-quarter onslaught by combining for three of their own, Maryland refused to let up.

The Terps will return to the title game after falling to Virginia last season. For coach John Tillman, who left Harvard to take the Maryland job, it's his second championship game appearance.