Lacrosse is a popular team sport for women. Although similar to the men's game, women's lacrosse has several significant rule differences. Not complying with them will result in a penalty.
Game Rules
The goal of lacrosse is to score more goals than your opponent. A goal is scored when a player shoots the ball into their opponent's net. The game begins with a face-off. Once a team gains possession, they try to move the ball toward the opponent's goal by running with it or passing it to a teammate. When one team has possession, defensive players can try to dislodge the ball by hitting an opponent's stick. As opposed to men's lacrosse, hits to the body are prohibited. If the ball goes out of bounds, the last team with the ball losses possession. If the ball goes out on an attempted shot, the team closest to the ball when it crosses the boundary line gains possession.
Logistics
Each team has 10 players on the field during play: three forwards, three midfielders, three defenders and a goalie. By rule, a team must always have four players on the defensive half of the field and three players on the offensive half of the field.
Most lacrosse fields are 60 yards wide and 110 yards long, although the size may vary depending on the age of the players. The goals are placed 15 yards in front of the end line. A 9-foot circle surrounds each goal. No offensive player is allowed inside this area.
Equipment
All women players have the same size stick, except for the goalie whose stick head is wider. Sticks must be within 35-1/2 inches and 43-1/4 inches long, while the head of the stick must be 7 to 9 inches wide. Players are required to wear protective eyewear at all times. In addition, all the players on a team must wear the same uniforms.
Fouls
Lacrosse has two types of fouls: personal and technical. Personal fouls include slashing, tripping, unsportsmanlike conduct, cross-checking, using an illegal stick and body checking. If a personal foul is committed, the offending player is suspended from the game for one to three minutes, during which their team must play with nine players. Technical fouls result in a 30-second player suspension if the team who committed the foul is not in possession or a change of possession if the team that was fouled did not have the ball.
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