TOWSON, Md. - These days, being around youth is a big part of Megan Penza's life.

The senior field hockey captain is not only surrounded by underclassmen, but on Mondays Penza spends at least half her day around babies.

Penza, who plays midfield and defense and her senior teammate, midfielder Janine Kovach, are nursing students and do 12-hour stints each Monday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

Their current seven-week rotation has them in the labor and delivery area, where they might see live births, or watch babies in distress at the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit, or be with mothers who have just delivered, as well as work in the nursery.

Penza, the first nursing student in her family, says she's not only found the career she wants to pursue, but the career path she wants to head down in taking care of babies.

“It really interests me,” said Penza. “I love being around the babies and the atmosphere. I love the little ones.”

Penza, who shares co-captain's duties with Kovach, is also taking care of the young ones on the Tigers' roster.

With 13 freshmen and sophomore teammates Penza is taking on a new role, that of leader. It's a duty that hasn't come easily because Penza prefers to let her play lead others, rather than her words.

“The most challenging thing for me is to be a leader verbally,” said Penza. “This year, I've really stepped up to do that. In past years, I've been kind of quiet on the field. This year, I'm trying to make myself more vocal on the field.”

“I have to make myself do that (be vocal), especially when I'm in the middle of the game. I have to remember that I have to tell people what to do and where to go.”

Taking charge is an essential part of Penza's on-field persona, given that she plays both offense and defense. She's been playing more defense this season, because the Tigers need that part of her game more than offense.

However, the fact that Coach Michelle Webber wants defenders to outlet passes out to the offense to get the attack started allows Penza to use her offensive playmaking skills more.

The team's growth has been slow, through an 0-5 start, but Penza thinks the younger players are making strides with each practice and each game.

“We've progressed better with every game and we realize what we need to work on,” said Penza. “We're fixing it as we move on. As a team, we're kind of putting our games in the past, figuring out what we need to fix and…not worrying about them. We're moving on to the next game.”

The Tigers have a tough set of back-to-back games this weekend, starting with Saturday's match at Bucknell.

But the back end of the set finds Towson opening the home schedule against Providence, the first of four straight games at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

“We're all very excited,” said Penza. “I think we all know from the start that we're looking for that first win. The pressure is still the same whether it's our first game or now our sixth game. We just need to get that win for our team and build our confidence.”

Given all her experience around kids, Penza should be well versed on getting them past growing pains.