W. Lax | Baltimore Cloud Nine

BALTIMORE - Her teammates praise her offensive repertoire. But for whatever reason, women's lacrosse midfield Samantha Bird never developed much of a scoring touch.

In 27 games over her first three seasons, she managed just six points. Her numbers were slightly better to start this year, with seven points in the team's first eight contests, but coach Karin Brower said the senior is still more of a role player.

Last night, though, Bird's skills shone through the Baltimore rain, as she notched her first career hat trick in an 11-3 win over Johns Hopkins. For good measure, she added two assists as well.

"Bird has one of the best shots and the best stick-handling that I've ever seen," said junior Ali DeLuca, who netted three goals of her own. "When she gets the opportunity to do that, she can score the lights out of the game."

So one day after dropping a slot to No. 3 in the latest coaches poll, the Quakers extended their season-opening winning streak. They are now 9-0, the best start in program history.

Expecting a physical battle, Brower told her players that they nevertheless had to go hard to the cage. They obliged, and it paid dividends. Less than three minutes after DeLuca capitalized on a free-position shot, Bird converted on a penalty opportunity of her own, quickly releasing a bouncer into the back of the twine.

Bird added another shortly after the break and completed the trifecta on a wrap-around, firing one more tough low shot as she came out from behind the net with 18:36 left.

"It was easy to work the crease on them - a little bit easier than we thought it would be," Bird said. "They were kind of tight around some of the other girls, so that opened things up for me."

Her second tally, though, may have been the most important. The Quakers were wary of a bit of deja vu; last season, they led the Blue Jays, 6-2, at the break, only to barely hang on in a 9-8 nail biter. When her squad took a 5-0 lead into the locker room last night, Brower made sure nobody had forgotten the 2008 near-fiasco.

"That put it on our minds that we can't let that happen," DeLuca said. "And I think once we score the first goal in the half, we really set the tone for the second half."

The Red and Blue experienced a brief scare when the Blue Jays - forced to the perimeter all evening - managed some penetration for two quick goals midway through the second half. That cut Penn's lead to 10-3, prompting Brower to quickly call a time out to "refocus" the Quakers. JHU did not threaten the rest of the way.

More worrisome, DeLuca - who now leads the team with 21 goals - hobbled off the field, although she would return.

"She's OK," Brower said.

With ice wrapped around her hamstring and ankle, DeLuca had a slightly different assessment.

"It sucks," she said of her leg. "I'm gonna be perfectly honest - it's not good."

But she expects to play at Harvard Saturday and, despite the pain, was all smiles after quickly dispatching the Blue Jays in under two hours. So was Courtney Lubbe, who led the team with four goals and now has 20.

And Bird, too, was plenty happy. She had already received congratulations from her younger sister, who plays lacrosse in high school. Next up are phone calls with the other lacrosse-playing siblings: Courtney, who graduated from Princeton last May and Georgia, a freshman at Dartmouth.

Bird doesn't plan to boast, but she thinks they'll learn of her career day anyway.

"I'm sure my mom will tell them," she said with a laugh.

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