Let’s be honest: Lacrosse is not a very popular sport, especially out in Mead, Colorado. But if you ever find yourself at a lacrosse game, we’ve got you. After reading this, you’ll be able to sound like a professional. The end game of lacrosse is very similar to many others—use the stick to sling the ball into the goal. But in practice, there are so many small rules and regulations that disrupt the game.
Before the game even starts, the referee checks to make sure each player has a lacrosse stick, protective goggles, and a mouth guard. Goalies must have a helmet, throat protector, mouth guard, chest protector, goalie shorts, goalie gloves, shin guards, and a special lacrosse stick. Once every player has been cleared, the game is allowed to start.
The Field:
Games take place on a regular 100-yard football field, but lacrosse has its own lines and markings. The net sits on the ten-yard line with two semicircles drawn facing the other goal. These are known as the eight-meter and 12-meter marks. The eight-meter mark creates a boundary where only the goalie can be during the game. The 12-meter marks are where an offensive player can reset if there is a major foul committed near the goalie.
There is also a circular area surrounding the goal, where offensive players are not allowed to enter during the game, called the crease. Defensive players are allowed to be in the crease (wink wink), as long as they are not directly blocking the shot from the offense.
There is a yellow circle around the middle of the 50-yard line used for faceoffs, where each section of play time starts (unless a major foul happens in the 12-meter mark).
The Players:
With 12 total players, there is always something happening on the field. The team consists of a goalie, three attackers, five midfielders, and three defenders. The goalie’s job is the same as every sport—use your body to stop the hard balls flying at you to keep the other team from scoring. Like other sports, the goal that you score into changes every quarter. In between the 30-yard lines, the midfielders are there to run their butts off to transport the ball to the attackers. Once the attackers catch the ball, their objective is to throw the ball as hard as they can into the goal. When the other team’s attackers have the ball, the defense is there to help keep the ball out of the net. In high school girls’ lacrosse, it is common for players to be switched between the roles of attacker, defense, and midfield.
Basic Rules:
The most important thing to remember about girls’ lacrosse is that it is a no-contact sport. Unlike boys’ lacrosse, female players are not allowed to push, shove, hit, or tackle other players. Some common fouls include charging, when a player pushes through another player, goal crease violations, when a player (other than the goalie) enters the goal crease, and shooting space violations. Similar to soccer, there are colored cards that refs use to judge penalties. A green card is given to the team captain for a delay of game. If you’re going to get carded, this is the one to get. A yellow card is for a first-time penalty, which results in the player being removed from the field for five minutes in college and three minutes in high school. A yellow card can also be played if a player is warned by the ref about a behavior, but continues to commit the same actions. The worst card to get, a red card, comes after a player receives two yellow cards or has unsportsmanlike behavior. Getting this results in the person being rejected from the game, and if it was for unsportsmanlike behavior, the player cannot play in the following game either.
By now, hopefully you understand the players, rules, and overall concept of girls’ lacrosse. Congrats, you are officially no longer a dummy!
