Tiffany Weimer is an artist, but any comparisons to famous painter Andy Warhol are useless. Weimer will never be known for painting images of Campbell's chicken noodle soup.

Rather, she is a different kind of artist. She does not use a paintbrush. She does not use an easel. Instead deft strokes are made by her feet on the soccer field.

"It's like a canvas," senior forward Weimer said of the turf. "You're the artist. You can do whatever you want."

And while Warhol's paintings might be "M'm! M'm! Good!" Weimer's artwork can make defenders feel like Ralph Wiggum with shin guards.

Weimer's talent was on full display this past weekend as she scored four goals to lead the Penn State women's soccer team to two early victories. On Saturday, her third career hat trick led the Nittany Lions past a young No. 20 Washington squad while her lone goal on Sunday proved to be the game winner against No. 9 Connecticut

"There's only so much you can do to stop her, especially when you are as young as we are," Washington coach Lesle Gallimore said. "I thought we did a pretty good job trying to contain her, but you know, she's going to get her goals."

Early in the first half against Washington, a shifty Weimer consistently broke through defenders to get shots but could not find the net. Her first goal, a penalty kick, finally came during the 43rd minute of the first half and added a spark to the Nittany Lions offense that had been downtrodden after senior goalkeeper Erin McLeod allowed an early goal.

"Since Erin keeps letting goals, I have to help her out and make up for it," Weimer said, turning toward her net-minding teammate and sharing a laugh.

Weimer completed the hat trick in the second half, taking passes from junior midfielder Ali Krieger and senior midfielder Carmelina Moscato.

Against UConn, Weimer put Penn State ahead 2-0 when she slipped a pass from freshman midfielder Allie Long under UConn's diving goalkeeper, Meghan Jessee.

Weimer's four goals give her 63 for her career, 19 shy of alumna Christie Welsh's mark of 82. The two star forwards for the Nittany Lions may be similar in that they can score, but after that, the comparisons stop.

Welsh stands at 5-foot-10, while Weimer is 5-foot-4. Welsh, built like a prototypical forward, could simply muscle her way through defenders while Weimer must rely on other means.

"That's something you hear about forwards. Bigger. Faster. Stronger. That's not Tiffany. And that's not a slap on her. That's actually a compliment to her because she's different than all other forwards in the country. She's so technical and has the ability to elude people so well with her running and her ball skills," Penn State coach Paula Wilkins said. "Tiffany will make you miss several times and embarrass you, which is a lot more fun to watch sometimes."

Weimer, a preseason All-American, is a candidate for the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy, awarded to the top collegiate soccer player in the country. She finished as the runner-up for the award last year

And if these two early season games are any indication, come January, the Michelangelo of soccer may just find herself holding that trophy.