Men's and women's lacrosse rules are similar, but have a few key differences specifically with regards to the level of physical contact allowed. The rules regarding contact also affect the equipment that men and women use during play. Men's lacrosse sticks, for instance, feature a wider and deeper basket than women's lacrosse sticks. However, the differences are few, and the basic rules for lacrosse are consistent across gender and age.
Object
The goal of lacrosse is to score more points than the opposing team. Points are scored when the lacrosse ball enters the opponents' net. Players can send the ball into the net in a variety of ways, but may not use their hands to manually throw the ball into the goal. The winner is the team with the most points at the end of four quarters. The standard length for a quarter is 15 minutes, but high school games typically feature 12-minute quarters while youth games feature eight-minute quarters.
Face-Off
At the beginning of a quarter or after a goal, one player from each team has a face-off in the middle of the field to determine possession. Players stand with their hands and feet on the ground and their lacrosse sticks laying on the field's center line. At the official's mark, both players attempt to capture the ball, which is laying on the field's center point. Players typically obtain and pass the ball to a teammate in the same motion, but the face-off player may also opt to keep possession for himself.
Positions
A team is comprised of 10 players: three attackers, three midfielders, three defenders and one goalie. Players may move freely among any of the positions during a game, but the team must maintain at least four players--including the goalie--on their own half of the field at any given time during play. Additionally, the team must have at least three players on the offensive half of the field. The midfielders may stand on either the offensive or defensive half. Offensive players may not enter their opponent's crease, which is a circle that surrounds the goal. Defensive players may enter their team's own crease. If at any time an offensive player enters the crease, or the number of players on the defensive or offensive side is incorrect, the official will call offsides and possession of the ball will be awarded to the opponent's team.
Out of Bounds
Unlike many other sports, lacrosse awards possession to the team closest to the line over which a ball goes out of bounds. A ball is out of bounds when it leaves the marked borders of the playing field. This means a team that misses a goal shot may retain possession of the ball if an offensive player is closer to the out-of-bounds line than a defensive player.
Possession
The player possessing the ball may run with the ball, pass the ball to another teammate or attempt to score by shooting the ball at the goal. A single player may possess the ball from his team's own goal to his opponent's goal, provided that the rules about positions are always observed.
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