Lacrosse Rules: Men’s vs Women’s, College, High School, Box and Sixes

This article contains affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

Ten minutes before a college game, the officials walk to midfield and start checking sticks: a ball dropped into each pocket, a look from the side to see whether it sits too deep. Across town, a high school girls’ game is starting with a draw, and down the road a 10U boys’ team is playing cross-field with no body checking at all. Same sport, very different rulebooks. This guide lays out the lacrosse rules for men’s and women’s field lacrosse side by side, then how college (NCAA), high school (NFHS) and youth (USA Lacrosse) rules differ, and finally box lacrosse and sixes, the version headed to the 2028 Olympics.

New to the sport? Start at our lacrosse hub. For the equipment the rules require, see lacrosse gear.

Men’s vs women’s lacrosse at a glance (NCAA)

	Men’s	Women’s
Players	10 a side: 3 attack, 3 midfield, 3 defense, 1 goalie	12 a side, one of them a goalie
Field	110 × 60 yards	Up to 120 × about 65 yards (110 × 60 m)
Game	Four 15-minute quarters; 4-minute sudden-victory overtime	Four 15-minute quarters; 5-minute sudden-victory overtime
Start of play	Faceoff	Draw (with a 30-second draw clock after goals)
Shot clock	80 seconds (resets to 60 in some situations)	90-second possession clock
Sticks	Short stick 40–42 in; long pole 52–72 in (max 4 on the field); goalie 40–72 in	35½–43¼ in; pocket depth checked
Contact	Body checks allowed on the ball carrier or near a loose ball	No body checking; stick checks only
Required gear	Helmet, gloves, shoulder pads (NOCSAE ND200), arm pads, mouthpiece	Eye protection (ASTM), mouthpiece; headgear optional
Penalties	Technical fouls 30 seconds; personal fouls 1–3 minutes	Cards: green 1 min, yellow 2 min, red 5 min

Men’s and boys’ field lacrosse rules

Positions and offsides. Each team has three attackmen, three midfielders, three defensemen and a goalie. Midfielders run the whole field; attack and defense mostly stay in their halves because of the offside rule: a team may have no more than six players in its offensive half and no more than seven in its defensive half. That’s why you’ll see a midfielder sprint back over the center line when a defender carries the ball up.

Faceoffs and the crease. Every quarter and every goal restart with a faceoff at the center X. Around each goal is a crease with a 9-foot radius; attackers can’t step in it, and in the 2026 high school rules a defender other than a properly equipped goalie who enters it to block shots commits a personal foul.

Checking. In college, a body check is legal on the ball carrier or a player within 5 yards of a loose ball, from the front or side, above the waist and below the neck, with both hands on the stick. Contact to the head or neck, checks from behind or below the waist and hits on a player who is off his feet are personal fouls. Checking an opponent’s stick is allowed; slashing (a vicious or reckless swing, or hitting the body in places such as the head, neck or back) is not.

Penalties. Fouls are served in a penalty box while the team plays a man down. Technical fouls (holding, pushing, offsides, interference) cost 30 seconds or possession. Personal fouls (illegal body checks, slashing, cross-checking, tripping, unnecessary roughness, unsportsmanlike conduct, illegal sticks) cost one, two or three minutes, and a player with five minutes of personal fouls is out of the game.

Sticks and gear. Short sticks are 40–42 inches, long poles 52–72 inches, and no more than four long poles may be on the field. Every player wears a helmet that carries NOCSAE certification, gloves, a mouthpiece covering the upper teeth (any color in college), and, except the goalie, shoulder pads and arm pads. Since 2022, field players’ shoulder pads must meet NOCSAE’s commotio cordis standard, ND200. Goalies wear a throat protector and an ND200 chest protector.

Women’s and girls’ field lacrosse rules

Twelve players and the draw. Teams field up to 12 players, including a goalie, and each quarter and goal restarts with a draw: two players hold their sticks back to back at the center, the ball between them, and flick it into the air on the whistle. Teams may have no more than seven players in their offensive end and eight in their defensive end.

Space, not contact. There’s no body checking. A defender may check an opponent’s stick, but never toward the head: the rules protect a “sphere” around it. In front of each goal is an 8-meter arc and a 12-meter fan. A defender can’t stay inside the 8-meter arc for more than three seconds unless she’s closely marking an opponent, and she can’t block a shooter’s path to goal without guarding someone (“shooting space”), which keeps defenders out of the line of fire. Fouls inside the critical scoring area lead to a free position, a shot with defenders cleared away.

Cards and sticks. Serious fouls bring cards: green (1 minute), yellow (2 minutes) and red (5 minutes, non-releasable). Sticks are 35½ to 43¼ inches long, and officials check pocket depth. Field players must wear eye protection that meets the current ASTM standard for women’s lacrosse and a mouthpiece; headgear is optional, but if worn it must meet ASTM’s women’s lacrosse headgear standard. Goalies wear a NOCSAE helmet, throat protector, padded gloves and an ND200 chest protector (required since January 2021).

College vs high school vs youth

The NCAA writes the college rules. The NFHS writes high school rules together with USA Lacrosse, and USA Lacrosse writes its own youth rules for 14U and under. The main differences:

	College (NCAA)	High school (NFHS)	Youth (USA Lacrosse)
Game length	4 × 15 min	4 × 12 min, boys and girls	Boys 12U–14U: 4 × 10 min running clock. Girls: 6–8 min quarters (8U) up to 12 min (14U)
Shot clock	Men 80 s, women 90 s	None by default; from 2027 states may adopt 70 s (boys) or 90 s (girls)	Usually none
Body checking (boys)	Yes	Yes, with limits on defenseless players and head contact	Not through 12U; allowed at 14U, no “take-out” checks
Stick checking (girls)	Full	Full	None at 8U and 10U, modified at 12U, transitional at 14U
Field and players	Full field	Full field	Small-sided, cross-field games for the youngest; full field by 12U–14U

High school rules also change every year. For 2026, NFHS made losing a helmet during play an illegal-procedure foul (to push players to fasten chin straps) and dropped color limits on mouthguards, while banning add-ons that don’t protect the teeth or mouth. From January 1, 2029, high school boys’ game balls must be fluorescent green or yellow. Girls’ high school games moved from halves to 12-minute quarters in 2024 to match the boys. Our youth lacrosse page explains the age-group rules in detail.

International rules: World Lacrosse

World Lacrosse, with 97 member nations as of 2026, writes the international rules for field, box and sixes and runs the world championships. The US women won the 2026 world title in Tokyo, beating Canada in the final. Its sixes rules are the ones that will be used at the LA28 Olympics.

Box lacrosse rules

• Where: on turf laid over a hockey rink, with boards and glass. Box is Canada’s national summer sport and the game of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
• Players: five runners and a goalie on the floor; NLL teams dress 17 runners and two goalies and change on the fly in shifts, like hockey.
• Time: four 15-minute quarters and sudden-victory overtime.
• Clocks: a 30-second shot clock, and 8 seconds to get the ball past midfield.
• Contact: body checks above the waist and below the neck; major penalties such as boarding and high sticking cost five minutes.

Sixes: the Olympic version

Sixes was created in 2018 to make lacrosse faster, cheaper and easier to stage around the world. It will be the format at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, with six men’s and six women’s teams. Under the sixes rules USA Lacrosse publishes (based on World Lacrosse’s):

• Five field players and a goalie per side, on a much smaller field than the full game, with up to 14 on a roster.
• Four 8-minute quarters with a running clock, and a 30-second shot clock.
• A draw starts each quarter; after a goal, the goalie restarts play from the crease instead of a faceoff.
• Short sticks only in the men’s game, so there are no long-pole specialists; the goalie can’t cross midfield.
• Minor fouls cost 30 seconds (or possession), major fouls one minute.
• Men wear helmets, gloves and ND200 chest protection; women wear eyewear and a mouthguard.

Rules that protect players

Many recent rule changes are about safety: certified chest protection against commotio cordis, penalties for any contact to the head and neck, chin straps that must stay fastened, and age-based limits on checking for kids. They work best alongside good habits off the field. Our lacrosse injuries page covers concussion and prevention, and leagues and associations explains who writes which rules. Playing a fall sport too? Compare with our soccer rules guide.

Lacrosse rules questions

How many players are on a lacrosse team?

Men’s and boys’ field lacrosse has 10 on the field per team, women’s and girls’ has 12, box lacrosse has 6 (five runners and a goalie), and sixes has 6. Youth games often use fewer players on smaller fields.

Is there body checking in girls’ lacrosse?

No. Girls’ and women’s lacrosse doesn’t allow body checking. Players may check an opponent’s stick, but never toward the head, and youth rules phase stick checking in by age.

What is the shot clock in college lacrosse?

NCAA men’s lacrosse uses an 80-second shot clock that resets to 60 seconds in some situations, and NCAA women’s lacrosse uses a 90-second possession clock. High school associations may add shot clocks from 2027.

How long is a lacrosse stick?

In men’s lacrosse, short sticks are 40–42 inches and long poles 52–72 inches; goalie sticks are 40–72 inches. Women’s sticks are 35½–43¼ inches. Youth rules allow shorter sticks for young players.

What are the rules of sixes lacrosse?

Six players a side (five plus a goalie), four 8-minute quarters, a 30-second shot clock, a small field and short sticks only for men. It’s the format for the 2028 Olympics.