Fresh off their season-opening 3-0 victory against George Mason, the No. 4 Penn State women's soccer team makes its first road trip of the season tonight.

As part of a string of four games in eight days to start their season, the Lady Lions (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) battle No. 23 Maryland, 7 p.m. at Ludwig Field.

The game will be a rematch of last year's NCAA second round matchup in which the Lions defeated the Terrapins 3-2 at Jeffrey Field.

The Terps (1-0, 0-0 ACC) edged Rutgers 1-0 Friday to start their 2000 campaign and will be looking to avenge the loss that ended their season last year. This time, the fans will be on their side.

The Lions are hoping the play of their freshmen continues in the hostile environment.

In Sunday's game, the Lions started four freshmen, and Penn State women's soccer coach Pat Farmer was pleased with the performances of all of them.

Freshman forward Heidi Drummond led the way, netting two goals. And although freshman forward Stephanie Smith failed to score, she had plenty of opportunities. Smith was robbed twice by Patriot goalkeeper Sarah Coughlin from point-blank range.

"At the beginning I was a little nervous," Smith said after the game. "I feel a little more confident. I still need to work on some more stuff — like finishing."

Of course, the Lions can always rely on sophomore forward Christie Welsh to finish and make opposing coaches sweat.

"They pushed the offside line way up against us last year," Farmer said. "We need to be looking, actually, to get some balls over the top. Christie and Heidi just ought to be going, 'Cool.' They're going to have some room to run. That's good for us."

Terps freshman midfielder Jen Biscoe is also expected to make an impact in the game. An All-State high school player in Maryland her junior and senior seasons, she was named Most Valuable Player of the 1999 Maryland State Championships, leading her team to the state title.

However, the Terrapins offense has two major hurdles to overcome — an experienced Penn State defense that faced them last year and All-American junior goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk.

Because the triple threat of Drummond, Smith and Welsh equals an explosive offense for the Lions, Terrapins senior goalkeeper Riki-Ann Serrins should have a busy night between the pipes.

"We've got to play our best ball," Maryland women's soccer coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski said. "We've got to contain their great offensive weapons."