Coach talking with Girls U14 players in a huddle

About MLR FC

A youth soccer club in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 2024.

Our mission

Our mission is to create a competitive development environment where young players are coached with purpose, challenged with high standards, and supported in their long-term growth. We focus on building confident, disciplined, and resilient players who understand the value of teamwork, accountability, and consistent effort. Through quality coaching and strong competition, we aim to help each player improve now while preparing for what comes next in the game and beyond.

Club history

Founded in Las Cruces2024

MLR FC started with three friends who came together through soccer and wanted to create opportunities for kids in our community to play, compete, and grow.

As time went on, life, responsibilities, and different paths naturally changed how each person was involved. But the roots of the club still matter. MLR was built from relationships, from people helping one another, and from being part of a soccer community that is bigger than any one person.

As the club grows into something more organized and established, we want to carry that history forward while giving MLR a meaning that every player, coach, and family can be part of.

  1. 2024

    Founded in Las Cruces by three friends, starting with private and group training

  2. Later in 2024

    Started Boys U12 and Girls U12 teams

  3. 2025

    Started running camps for the community

  4. 2026

    Expanded with a Girls U11 team

  5. 2026-27

    Four teams in EPPL, LCYSA and N1 League

Our promises

  • Development

    We invest in every player’s technical and tactical growth, with structured training that builds lifelong skills.

  • Community

    Soccer connects families and neighborhoods. We build a club culture rooted in belonging and mutual support.

  • Competition

    We prepare players to compete at the right level for their age, building resilience and drive.

Girls U14 huddle, hands in before kickoff

What MLR stands for

Develop. Compete. Inspire.

  1. Mindset

    How we approach challenges matters. We want players who are willing to learn, work, compete, respond to adversity, and keep improving.

  2. Leadership

    Leadership is not just being the loudest player or wearing a captain’s armband. It means taking responsibility, setting an example, communicating, helping teammates, and doing the right thing when nobody has to remind you.

  3. Respect

    Respect for the people on the field and around it, and for the game itself: teammates and coaches, opponents and referees, families and the fields we play on. On and off the field, we hold our players and coaches to high standards of sportsmanship and integrity. You can compete hard and still treat everyone well. We expect both.

Ricardo Zacarias, MLR FC head coach

Who coaches your player

Ricardo Zacarias

Head Coach

  • Former professional player
  • SafeSport trained

Ricardo Zacarias is a Las Cruces native with playing experience in both Mexico and the United States. His playing career began through Sueño Alianza and led to opportunities in Club América’s system, followed by time with clubs in Mexico including Club América Premier, Irapuato, Coras de Nayarit, and La Piedad. He later continued his career in the U.S. with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC and El Paso Locomotive FC. Ricardo now brings that experience into coaching, helping young players develop their technical ability, confidence, discipline, and understanding of the game.

Private training with the club

Where we play

MLR FC teams play in EPPL, LCYSA and N1 League this season.

  • EPPL logoEPPLLeague
  • LCYSA logoLCYSALeague
  • N1 League logoN1 LeagueLeague

Interested?

Tell us about your player. The head coach reads every registration and replies with what is open for their age group.