NCAA Lacrosse Rules: How To Play The Game

Men's lacrosse is a contact sport, the object of which is to shoot the lacrosse ball into the goal of the opponent. The team with the most goals will win. According to NCAA lacrosse rules, the game is played by two teams, each with ten players consisting of three defense players, three midfielders, three attack men and a goalie.

The lacrosse field is divided into two areas – the defensive side and the offensive side. At least four players should be in the defensive side including the goalie and three must be on the offensive side. The three midfielders may go anywhere in the field.

In the NCAA lacrosse rules, the duration of collegiate games is 60 minutes and is divided into quarters or 15-minute sections. Teams are given two-minute breaks after the first quarter and the third quarter and a ten-minute halftime interval.

The teams are allowed two timeouts each for the first and second half of the game. Between periods, the teams will shift sides in the field. The team that will win the coin toss will get to choose which end of the lacrosse field they will defend first.

The players then will take their respective positions on the lacrosse field. The defensive area should have four players, one player is placed at the center, two are positioned in the wing sections and the attack goal sections should have three players.

Based on the NCAA lacrosse rules, a face-off between the center players starts the game. What happens here is that the lacrosse ball is put in between the sticks of the two players who should be in a squatting position. The face-off takes place at the field’s center.
An official will blow the whistle to signal the start of the game.

At the sound of the whistle, the face-off players will both try to gain control of the ball and the wing area players can also go after the ball. The rest of the players cam only make their moves until a player gains possession of the ball or until the ball crosses the goal line.

NCAA lacrosse rules state that a center face-off takes place at the beginning of every quarter and after a team has scored a goal. A field player must use crosses in order to catch and pass the ball or run with it. The goalkeeper is the only player who may use his hands to touch the ball.

An out-of-bound ball or an out-of-bound player with possession of the ball will merit the other team possession of the ball. If a shot is unsuccessful and the ball lands out of bounds then the player who is nearest to the lacrosse ball will gain possession of it.
The officials that supervise the game in the field are the referee, the umpire and the field judge. They make sure players are following NCAA lacrosse rules at all times. They are assisted by the chief bench official, the timekeepers and the scorers.