First and foremost, rules are put in place for our safety and are important to play by. Something to keep in mind, however, is that every game and every ref are different. Though there is a rulebook, each ref’s interpretation will be slightly different, so just do your best to follow them and make sure you do it with good sportsmanship!
Offense Rules
All of these rules in this article apply to everyone, however, I’ve broken this article down by which players might come across certain rules more often than their teammates. Offense players might see these calls more often than defenders, and in the next section we’ll cover defense rules.
One rule that offensive players should pay attention to is a cover. You can’t guard the ball with the head of your stick to protect it from opponents during a tussle. This also applies to accidentally covering the ball when you go to pick up a groundball. Always make sure to scoop the ball up from underneath in one smooth motion; it should look like you’re shoveling.
While working on plays and cutting through the 8-meter, offense players have to keep their movements in check just like defenders. One such rule is charging; attackers can’t charge through a group of defenders, no matter if she is cutting or driving to goal. If there is obviously a player in your way, rather than forcing your way through, try dodging or cutting around them. Similarly, you may not block a defender with an illegal or moving pick. Picks are a great weapon to keep in your arsenal, but make sure to do them correctly and legally. If you are performing a pick so that your teammate is able to cut around you and therefore bypass her defender, you must stay still while she cuts. If you run with her, this is called a moving pick and a foul will be called.
As soon as a team gets possession, a shot clock of 90 seconds begins. This means that the attacking team has 90 seconds to take a shot on goal. The shot clock restarts when a turnover occurs, when the defending team receives any card for a foul, the goalie saves a shot, or when the attacking team catches a rebound when a shot is taken. If the ball hasn’t been turned over or a shot hasn’t been taken, the ball possession will change to the opposing team after the 90 seconds have finished. Don’t be too quick to take a shot that you make a dangerous one, however. If there is a defender in front of you while you shoot, the ref might call that a dangerous play on your end, and they’ll turn over possession.
Any time you have the ball, your stick must be in a position where a defender can perform a safe and legal check. This means you are not allowed to ward off or cradle within your own sphere. To avoid warding off, keep both hands on your stick, not only will you have better control of your stick, you’ll be less likely to use your free arm to block another player. Along the same vein, when you cradle with the ball, your stick must be out of your sphere, or space directly surrounding your head. Cradling in your sphere doesn’t allow a defender to safely and legally check your stick, just like the warding rule.
Defense Rules
The “defensive” rules, or the rules that defenders will be most familiar with, mainly have to do with keeping aggression in check. Actions like pushing, holding, and tripping are all illegal, intentional, or not. Pushing and tripping are pretty self-explanatory, but holding is when you detain an opponent, or the opponent’s clothing, intentionally or otherwise, with your stick or body.
Checking can be a large part of defending; it can lead to turnovers, which is ultimately the goal of defense. However, you have to make sure you’re doing it correctly or else you risk getting a foul. In order for a check to be legal, you have to hit another player’s stick while she has the ball and follow-through away from her face. If the stick is empty or you check into her sphere or space, a whistle will be called on you. Checking into a player’s space is very similar to the “dangerous stick in the sphere” rule. Whether you are defending someone, cutting on offense, or simply running, you must keep your stick out of people’s way. The space around a player’s head is impenetrable, just like the crease. If your stick does come into contact with another player’s body, this is called a cross-check. Aggressive examples include using the shaft of your stick to push or hit another player. If you enjoy watching these rough plays in men’s lacrosse, just remember that women’s lacrosse has a completely different set of rules, and to leave the aggressive body checks at home.
Just like offense, there are a couple rules that apply to the play of defense. These rules are meant to keep all players safe. One such rule is called shooting space. In my experience, every ref has called this differently, which made it hard to understand. Basically, as an attacker is running straight to goal for a shot, you must run towards her at an angle so as not to force her to shoot a dangerous shot. In order to legally be immediately in her path, you need to be a stick’s length away or closer. Anything further than a stick’s length away and it is considered illegal. If you do want to try to get in front of an offense player as she’s running to goal, you must run, with your stick outstretched, at an angle toward her and then meet up in her path once you get close enough. Trust me, this will require some getting used to, so try practicing it before a game.
The 3-second rule is somewhat similar to shooting space, but definitely easier to understand. When you are in the 8-meter, you must be within a stick’s length away from any attacker. The rulebook gives you three seconds to get to someone to guard if you find yourself alone and stranded in the 8-meter. Violation of both shooting space and three-seconds is followed by a free position shot by the opposing team.
Rules for Spectators
Women’s Lacrosse Rules Explained Wrap Up
Though these rules might make it seem like women’s lacrosse lacks aggression, it doesn’t have to. You just have to learn how to play hard while still playing within the rules. I fully believe in playing assertive defense AND offense. Play big on defense; show the attack that they’re in your zone. On offense, fight hard to find a shot on goal, take every avenue you can, just remember to not charge!
There’s another article on the website called Women’s Lacrosse Field Explained. In that article, we talk about rules that are dependent on the lines painted on the field. This article simply talks about the play of the game. I suggest reading both of those articles together to get a better understanding of the rules and what’s expected of you. The most important thing to keep in mind is that these are in place for safety purposes. We should do our best to play by them so people don’t get hurt and everyone can keep playing safely!