Lacrosse 101: Positions on the Field and Game Time
by James Kevin Stott
- Where Does Lacrosse Have its Roots?
- What Are the Five Versions of Lacrosse?
- Field Lacrosse
- Box Lacrosse
- Women’s Lacrosse
- Lacrosse Sixes
- Intercrosse
- Basic Lacrosse Terminology
- Who Are the Five Best NCAA Lacrosse Teams?
- Where to Watch Lacrosse and Get Lacrosse Tickets
Thumbnail: Lacrosse_stick_8024 by H-stt (CC-By-4.0-SA)
Where Does Lacrosse Have its Roots?
Lacrosse dates all the way back to the 12th century and was played in North America for centuries by indigenous tribes. When the continent was colonized by Europeans, the game made some modifications to make it less violent.
In the 1600s, French Jesuit missionaries first saw the game and gave it the name lacrosse. In 1856, the Montréal Lacrosse Club was founded in Canada, marking the start of organized lacrosse and later that century, it expanded to the US, UK and Australia.
The sport was first played in the Summer Olympics in St. Louis (1904) and London (1908) and lacrosse will be making its welcome return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
What Are the Five Versions of Lacrosse?
Field Lacrosse
The Men’s outdoor version of the sport is called Field Lacrosse and consists of 10 players on each team. The object is to get the ball in the net and it is a lot like Hockey without skates but with more players.
The field has an offensive and defensive zone and is divided by the midfield line. Four players from each team must stay in the defensive zone and three in the offensive zone. Teams with possession that violate this rule lose possession of the ball while teams that aren’t possessing the ball and violate the rule are assessed a technical foul.
The 10 players and lacrosse positions are three attackmen, three midfielders, three defensemen and one goalie. How long is a lacrosse game? Field Lacrosse games last 60 minutes and are divided into four 15-minute quarters. Should the two teams be tied after 60 minutes, there is a four-minute Sudden Death Overtime played split up by two-minute breaks until a winner is determined.
Box Lacrosse
The version of the sport called Box Lacrosse is usually played indoors on an ice hockey rink or a soccer field. Teams here have five runners and one goalie. The goal size in Box Lacrosse is smaller (4 feet) than in Field Lacrosse (6 feet).
Like Basketball, Box Lacrosse employs a Shot Clock, making the games much more fast-paced. The smaller field size and rigid boundaries also makes for more action and there is more scoring in Box Lacrosse than Field Lacrosse.
Box Lacrosse also has four 15-minute quarters, and like Hockey, assess Penalties where players sit in the Penalty Box. And Box Lacrosse also has Penalty Shots, and Overtime.
Box Lacrosse rosters have 21 players made up of 19 runners (MF) and two goalies.
Women’s Lacrosse
Women’s Lacrosse, sometimes referred to as LAX, is a non-contact version of the sport which sees 12 players on the outdoor field (6 defenders, 5 attackers, 1 goalie) in the US and 10 players at the international level.
The fields used in Women’s Lacrosse are bigger (120 yards long, 70 yards wide) than in the Men’s game (110 yards long, 60 yards wide) and while contact and checking is a big part of the Men’s game, contact is not allowed in Women’s Lacrosse.
Like Soccer, if contact is made in Women’s Lacrosse, the referee will issue either a Yellow Card or a Red Card, depending on the severity of the infraction.
The biggest professional Women’s league in the US is the Athletes Unlimited Pro Lacrosse League and it evolved after the closing of the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League in 2020 after the COVID-19 Pandemic. The new league began play in July 2021.
Lacrosse Sixes
Lacrosse Sixes, aka World Lacrosse Sixes, is a new hybrid version of lacrosse which sees just six players on each team on the outdoor field and which is played for a shorter amount of time (four 8-minute quarters). Rosters in this version have just 12 and all players play both defense and offense.
The global governing body of lacrosse, World Lacrosse, created this version in 2021 in an effort to get the sport back in the Summer Olympic Games and it worked as Lacrosse Sixes will make its debut in Los Angeles in the 2028 Olympics.
Intercrosse
Also called Soft Stick Lacrosse, Intercrosse is a non-contact version of the sport which uses modified lacrosse equipment. Whereas traditional lacrosse sticks have nylon or leather mesh pockets, Intercrosse sticks have plastic heads.
The balls used in Intercrosse are hollow, and larger and softer than the hard rubber balls used in traditional lacrosse. This version is very popular in places like Montréal and the Czech Republic.
Teams here have five players on a side, the playing field is 20 meters long and 40 meters wide and the goals in Intercrosse are also 4 feet in height and width, the same size as in Box Lacrosse. Players cannot possess the ball for more than 5 seconds and the shot Clock in Intercrosse is 30 seconds.
Basic Lacrosse Terminology
Attackers: Positioned in the offensive half of the field, the three attackers are focused on scoring goals. They are like wingers and centers in Soccer and Hockey.
Defensemen: Positioned in the defensive half of the field and in front of the goalie, these players are responsible for trying not to let opponents score goals.
Midfielders: These are the most versatile and creative players on lacrosse teams as they have to play both offense and defense. Also known as “Middies,” these players usually set up the offensive attack and assist on many goals.
Goalie: Like Hockey and Soccer, there is only one goalie—also called the Goaltender, Goalkeeper or Keeper—and it’s their responsibility to defend the goal and direct the defense.
Face-off: This is where two players vie for control of the ball at the beginning of games and quarters, just like a face-off in Hockey.
Lacrosse Stick: Also known as a “crosse,” the lacrosse stick is used to control the ball and to check opposing players sticks.
Long Stick: Also called a “long pole,” four players per team may use this piece of equipment which are between 52 to 72 inches in length.
Short Stick: Used primarily by midfielders and attackers, short sticks are between 30 to 42 inches in length and are easier to use for quick passes and harder shots.
Lacrosse Ball: Lacrosse balls are solid rubber balls, white, yellow or orange in color between 7¾ and 8 inches in circumference and 5 and 5½ ounces in weight.
Checking: This is a defensive tactic used by using one’s stick to try to obstruct or knock the ball out of the opponent’s stick head to gain possession.
Pocket: The pocket refers to the leather or nylon netting and strings portion of the stick's head where the lacrosse ball is carried and cradled by players.
Goal: Goal has two meanings in lacrosse, just like Soccer and Hockey: The structure that players try to throw the ball into as well as the word used when a player successfully scores. And like those sports, a goal is worth 1 goal.
Shot Clock: Like Basketball, this is a countdown timer which limits the offense’s amount of time possessing the ball and making a shot on goal.
Who Are the Five Best NCAA Lacrosse Teams?
Notre Dame—The Fighting Irish and long-time Head Coach Kevin Corrigan have won back-to-back NCAA Division I championships and went 16-1 in 2024.
Johns Hopkins—The Blue Jays (11-5) have won nine national titles and this Big Ten member ranked No. 5 in the ESPN 2024 men’s College Lacrosse rankings.
Syracuse—The Orange (12-6) have always been a powerhouse ACC members have more NCAA Division I championships (10) than any other school.
Virginia—The Cavaliers (12-6) have seven NCAA Championships and nine national titles in all and this ACC member has 10 pros in the Premier Lacrosse League.
Duke—The Blue Devils (13-6) also play in the ACC and have three NCAA Championships and have 11 players in the PLL, including star Myles Jones.
Where to Watch Lacrosse and Get Lacrosse Tickets
You can buy ticketsfor the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) at the league’s website for teams like the Boston Cannons, California Redwoods, New York Atlas and Philadelphia Waterdogs. You can watch PLL games on TV on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+. The Utah Archers are the defending PLL champions.
The PLL championship game is called the Cash App Championship and this season’s title tilt will be played at Subaru Park, in Chester, Pennsylvania on Sunday, September 15 (ABC, ESPN+, 12 ET/11 am CT/9 am PT). You can get tickets for the big match here.
PLL tickets can be found at secondary markets like TicketX where first-time buyers can get 10% off using this August promo code.
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