The Penn State men's soccer team has arrived at a crossroad.

Two weeks ago, the Nittany Lions were flying high at No. 3 in the polls. But in the last four games, they've gone 0-2-2 and have dropped all the way down to No. 20.

Whether or not Penn State (5-2-5, 0-1-2) can recover will be dependent upon its two-game stretch in the next four days.

The Lions will battle No. 21 Maryland on the road 7 p.m. tonight and will square off against Ohio State at 2 p.m. Sunday at Jeffrey Field.

"Last year, Maryland was a turning point for us," captain Gabe Bernstein said. "This is almost the same scenario."

Last season, the Lion fell to the Terps by a score of 1-0 and subsequently dropped four of their next five games.

Bernstein and company are hoping it'll be a different story this time around. But, to do that, they'll have to notch a few goals of their own.

"We have the capability to score goals," Penn State coach Barry Gorman said. "We played two games and scored five goals. The problem on the other end is that we haven't been able to keep a settled defense."

Inexperience plagued the Lions just one season ago. This year, injuries seem to be the main problem.

Markku Viitanen and Richard Costanzo are doubtful for today' game, and Pasi Karppinen remains out.

"We're losing and we're not winning because we're missing key players in key positions," Gorman said. "If we can get those guys back healthy, we're as good as any team in the country."

On the plus side, the Lions finally look to get Bernstein some playing time after he missed four weeks with a hamstring injury. Penn State should greatly benefit from the return of the 6-foot-3 midfielder.

Bernstein is the tallest player on the team and should be able to grab some headers at which his replacements normally didn't have an opportunity.

Freshman goalkeeper Conrad Taylor is another player to keep an eye on.

After earning three consecutive Big Ten Player of the Week awards, Taylor has allowed eight goals and recorded only five saves in his last three outings.

By comparison, Maryland is currently ranked second in the nation in scoring with an average of 3.36 goals per game and may frustrate the Lions' defense with its ability to maintain pressure on the net.

Although Ohio State (5-4-1, 2-0-0) is barely hovering above .500, the Buckeyes are still a sizeable test for Penn State. The Buckeyes experienced some growing pains early in the season with Casey Latchem in the net, but incumbent Ray Burse Jr. has been picking up the extra slack.

Latchem was saving just over half the shots on goal while Burse Jr. is saving a mind-boggling 82.8% of the balls that come his way. He's 3-1-0 as a starter, and the Lions may have some trouble in slipping a goal past him.