Lacrosse may not be as big in the Southwest as it is on the East Coast, but members of the UNM lacrosse club are eager to change that.
Marcos Rivera, the team's vice president, said his goal is for the school's club team to help generate interest in the sport.
"A lot of people don't know about lacrosse," he said. "You say lacrosse, and they're like, 'What's that?'"
Although it was difficult to organize in the team's first few years of existence, Rivera believes lacrosse is starting to take to some ground roots at UNM.
"Our original problem was we didn't have leadership," Rivera said. "But now we have coaches that people will take seriously and respect."
In the first few years of its establishment, the team struggled to find the financial support it needed. Now, Rivera said that some of their travel expenses are covered by ASUNM.
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The team, which is not affiliated with the NCAA, competes in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse Conference.
The conference consists of some familiar Mountain West Conference foes like Colorado State, BYU and Wyoming.
After joining the conference in 2007, the Lobos struggled, going just 1-12.
After losing 13-2 to Northern Arizona on Saturday at Johnson field, the Lobos are 1-4 in the conference and 1-6 overall this season. Halfway through the season, they have already matched last year's win total, defeating Western State College on March 1.
Rivera said the Lobos' record, however, is not indicative of how competitive UNM's program is becoming.
"Last year, we went through some struggles," he said. "All the scores were 20-3, 24-10. But (this year) we're really competitive. We're only losing by margins of two or three goals. Clubs come from Arizona and Utah, and they're like, 'We're going to go and blow UNM out of the water.' But they come, and we punch them in the jaw. So, this is definitely a big year for us."
Rivera, who is in his first year with the team, said he had never picked up a stick until last year, let alone play.
"I had never really even seen a game on TV," he said. "I knew what it was, and I knew it was big in the East, but I come from a football town. I never had any lacrosse experience."
Instead, the junior was a football junkie. He played for St. Michael's High School in Santa Fe.
But Rivera said assistant coach Mike Mooney, who pointed out the similarities between football and lacrosse, helped spark his interest.
"He got me to come out and play," Rivera said. "He said, 'Hey, man, it's full-contact. I know you played football.'"
Mooney - a former player who helped organize the lacrosse program - said many of the players on the roster are just like Rivera.
"These guys just love the sport - that's their passion," he said. "We don't have a lot of guys from the East where lacrosse is really popular. For them, what we try to do is bring them out here and get them up to speed. If they're willing to work and put forth the motivation it takes to get this done, we'll give them what they need to play."
However, Mooney said he has hopes of building a lacrosse program that will one day compete in the NCAA.
"It's a long process, but right now we're focused on developing this program," he said. "Obviously, eventually we would like to see the program supported by the University and the NCAA. But right now, we will take anyone. They don't have to have any previous experience."
