Expect Ludwig Field to be packed tonight. Extra bleachers will be carted out, and latecomers should expect standing room only in order to watch tonight’s Terrapin men’s soccer game against UCLA.

The Athletics Department hopes for a record-breaking crowd for the No. 1-ranked Terps’ second home game of the season. The record is 6,203 fans in the 4,500-seat facility.

Even coach Sasho Cirovski saved the national championship celebration for tonight’s national televised contest between two powerhouses. Normally, teams celebrate a previous year’s championship during their home opener.

“It is an important game,” Cirovski said. “It is against a team you know is going to go out and have a great year, and therefore it’s a good measuring stick and has significant impact later in the year.”

But tonight, after the ceremony is finished and the Terps are done commemorating last year’s accomplishments, the coast-to-coast rivalry game will have a different meaning than normal.

When the two teams played during the regular season in the past, it was all about the ability to claim bragging rights.

But in this year’s game, there is more than that. The new- look Terps have their first chance to step out of the shadow of the 2005 championship team, state their name and present to fans what might just be expected out of Terp soccer in the near future.

Throughout the preseason and in the early games of this season, one of the themes centered around the Terps – who only returned four starters from last year – has been creating a new face and not being overshadowed by last year’s team.

It is matches against teams like UCLA that help to substantiate the Terps’ new squad.

“That’s a part of creating the identity -playing huge games like this,” senior midfielder A.J. Godbolt said. “It will be interesting to see who steps up.”

Granted, the game against the No. 10 Bruins is not all or nothing for the Terps. Last year they lost 4-0 to UCLA in Los Angeles and went on to win the national championship. The game was a good indicator of what the Terps needed to change in order to get to the top.

This year’s game serves as a good indicator of how big, or small, the learning curve will be for the 2006 Terps.

“We are not going to win the national championship if we beat UCLA,” Godbolt said. “But it is a good measuring stick to see where we are at in terms of not just teams in our region, but teams in the entire country.”

The two teams have a similar story line surrounding the season’s start. They are both young, both talented and both College Cup contenders. The Terps have this year’s fourth-ranked recruiting class according to ESPNsoccernet, while the Bruins have the best.

But no matter who plays for either team, young or old, the rivalry has grown over the last few years into an exciting game that draws thousands of fans.

So it just seems right that the first chance for the new Terps to prove themselves is against a big rival.

Terps vs. UCLA

Where: Ludwig Field

When: Tonight, 8 p.m.

TV: CSTV

Contact reporter Bryan Mann at bmanndbk@gmail.com.