By Lindsey Givens
Unigo Campus Rep at UNL
Here at UNL, students seem to have a one-track sports mind – they are always thinking about football. But students who have branched out and started exploring the other sports at Lincoln will tell you it is well worth it. For instance, lacrosse is popular in some parts of the country, but in Nebraska the sport has only recently begun to gain interest.
The state of Nebraska recently started a high school lacrosse league and is hoping to add three or four more teams in the Lincoln area in the next few years. There are even three women’s high school lacrosse teams in Nebraska.
With the steady growth of interest in lacrosse, UNL’s lacrosse team has become more popular than ever.
“It’s one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Our team gets bigger every year and our fan base gets bigger every year, and we have no reason to think it won’t continue to do that,” said Robert Molinelli, a junior third-year member of the lacrosse team and political science major at UNL. He joined the team when he was a freshman and has stuck with it ever since. Some of his best friends are other players on the lacrosse team.
Molinelli said that lacrosse is a sport that appeals to many people, no matter what sports they like.
“Lacrosse is cool because it is a physical sport like hockey and football,” he said. “It is fast-paced and strategically; it is a lot like basketball the way offense and defense is set up so there is something for everyone.”
Molinelli said he loves participating in the sport, and thinks that people who give it a chance will not be disappointed.
“Even if you don’t know anything about lacrosse it is still a cool atmosphere, and it’s free at UNL,” he said. “It is always exciting with lots of hits and lots of scoring.”