Yesterday provided quite a doleful moment for the area's four Division I lacrosse programs --- Georgetown, Maryland, Navy and Virginia.

They all lost. Navy at Army. Georgetown at Loyola. Maryland at Hopkins. And Virginia at home against Duke.

(The definition of the "area" certainly can come under some fire, especially since there are four Baltimore schools within a shorter drive than Charlottesville. But it is the aforementioned four that technically fall under the local purview, though come May that definition usually extends itself to include perennial power Johns Hopkins.)

Anyway, as domino by domino fell yesterday, it got me wondering just when all four happened to lose on the same day. And the answer is surprising. Or maybe it isn't.

Either way, yesterday was the first 0-for-4 the schools had ever produced.

Now, Georgetown's only been going at it in Division I since 1970, and while the Hoyas' records don't include dates before 1991, it was hard enough finding days when two of the other three programs lost on a single day.

There are two of weekends when all four stumbled since 1991, but the ACC tournament contributed heavily to both:

* April 21-22, 1995: Maryland (lost at North Carolina in ACC semifinals), Virginia (lost to Duke in ACC semifinals), Navy (lost at Johns Hopkins) and Georgetown (lost at Hobart)

* April 19-21, 2002: Maryland (lost at Duke in ACC semifinals), Georgetown (lost to Massachusetts), Navy (lost to Johns Hopkins), Virginia (lost at Duke in ACC final)

--- Patrick Stevens