How long is a college lacrosse game

Some plays that you are not allowed to do in lacrosse are called fouls. If a player commits a foul, they will get put in a penalty area for 1 to 3 minutes. Like basketball, at 5 personal fouls the player is removed from the game.

Lacrosse personal fouls include tripping, unnecessary roughness, cross checking (making contact with another player with the stick between your hands), slashing (a stick check not on the opponents gloves or stick), or illegal body checking.

Some Lacrosse technical fouls include holding, offsides (not the right number of players on each half of the field), setting screens, stalling, and pushing.

Lacrosse is considered one of North America’s oldest sports, but it has only contested at two editions of the Summer Olympic Games. There are actually fire versions of lacrosse, that have different sticks, fields, rules, and equipment. Get smarter on lacrosse here.

Lacrosse was first played as early as the 17th century, and the game has a long and beautiful history. I will supply you with some fun and basic knowledge about lacrosse.

How long are lacrosse games? International games, college lacrosse, and MLL: Major League Lacrosse has a total playing time in 60 minutes. The game is composed in four quarters with a duration time of 15 minutes. High-school games and other youth-competitions are usually 12 minutes instead.

Lacrosse is a pretty simple team sport, with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball, but it is played in many versions, with many different rules, so it can actually be a pretty complex sport when you dive deeper into it.

If you are looking for a description of the different versions, the different lacrosse gear, and want more general knowledge about lacrosse, then you should continue reading.

What is lacrosse? Get some facts about the sport here

There are signs of lacrosse from native Americans all the way back from 1100 AD. There had happened a lot to lacrosse since then, and the rules from the aboriginal Canadian version were also a lot different than the lacrosse, we know today.

Back then, a team could exist from about 100 to 1000 men of a field, which were several kilometers long, and the game could last for several days.

The game is played totally different today. There are now four different versions of how to play lacrosse: Field lacrosse, Box lacrosse, Women’s lacrosse, and Intercross. We will explain a little more about, how this amazing game is played, and what you need to start lacrosse.

Do you need new lacrosse gear? Read this post where we explain all you need to know about Lacrosse equipment.

How is lacrosse played? Lacrosse in general and positions

Lacrosse is a sport for both men and women, but in this particular case, there are made different versions for each gender, and there are also different versions compared to if you play indoor or outdoor.

There are a lot of differences between the four versions, and the most similar to them the ball and the goal. 

Are you in doubt about, if lacrosse is a contact sport, and what equipment to use? I understand that because it always depends on the version you play.

I have a ton of European friends, and some only know lacrosse from the movie American Pie, where Ozstriker and Stifler are playing lacrosse, and some other of my friends only know lacrosse because they have seen the TV-show Archer, where they play lacrosse.

If you want to know more about the sport, you can also check out online videos, or courses to get a better understanding of Lacrosse as a whole. 

One that I can personally recommend is called the Players Academy, sponsored by Rob Pannell, where he shares pro tips on different aspects of the sport: conditioning, mental preparation and fundamentals of the game.

4 versions of Lacrosse

To draw some parallels to football, you also have different positions in lacrosse. Due to the size of the field, you also have a striker, center, defender and a goalie. But again there is so many differences in how lacrosse is played, so I will try to explain the four different versions short.

#1 Field Lacrosse

Field lacrosse is also called the men’s outdoor version of the sport. It is played outdoors on a field, with a goal set at each end of the field (180 cm in height and width). There are 10 players on each team incl. goalkeeper, and each player is equipped with a stick with a net at the end.

The ball, which is a bouncy ball has the size of a tennis ball. Its thrown from player to player and it is then about getting down to the opponent’s goals and scores. You have to run as far as you want with the ball, but keep in mind that the defenders must tackle an attacker and, to a limited extent, hit with their stick to get the ball from him.

Lacrosse is a physically tough sport, but definitely not a violent sport. All players have equipment that is a bit similar to the equipment you see on ice hockey players but without the skates of course.

The length of the field is 110 yd and it is 60 yd wide.

#2 Box Lacrosse

Box lacrosse is also referred to as Boxia, and it is played indoor. It was originated in Canada in the 1930s, and it is now more popular as an indoor sport in Canada than outdoor. Maybe it has something to do with the cold weather up there.

In box lacrosse you play 6 versus 6. Five runners and one goalie on each team. It is traditionally played on an ice hockey rink when the ice is either removed or covered.

#3 Women’s Lacrosse

Also referred to as girls’ lacrosse is also played on a field, but whit 12 players at each team. 11 runners and one goalie. It is a no-contact sport, but they can use stick against stick. It is played without body protection, and they only use lacrosse googles.

STX Lacrosse Goggles

Great option for women’s lacrosse. Meets requirements and comes in different colors.

Check it on Amazon

Modern women’s lacrosse was introduced in 1890 in Scotland, and the rules are significantly different from the men’s field lacrosse.

#4 Intercrosse

Intercrosse is called many names. Some of them: soft stick lacrosse, softcrosse, modcrosse or pop lacrosse. This sport is getting very popular in Europe, and it is a non-contact sport where the head of the stick is made of plastic.

You play five against five and the field has a size on 20 meters wide and 40 meters long. You can actually both play it indoor and outdoor, and it is a great way to introduce the youth to lacrosse.

Read the full post about this variant of Lacrosse here.

Lacrosse equipment? See what you need to play lacrosse

There are differences in which equipment you need to play lacrosse, compared to what version you wanna play. Have no fear, the gear is pretty easy to find, and if you click on the links, you will see the best results and reviews on Amazon, on the equipment you need.

Equipment for lacrosse:

Lacrosse Stick For Practice

STX Lacrosse Stallion 200 A/M Complete Stick

Great for development of fundamental skills. Includes soft mesh stringing.

Check it on Amazon

First Choice For Lacrosse Balls

Champion Sports Official Lacrosse Balls

Official size and weight, comes in different colors.

Check it on Amazon

Women’s Lacrosse Helmet

CASCADE LX Women’s Lacrosse Headgear

Great option for women’s lacrosse. Comes with integrated goggle.

Check it on Amazon

Youth Lacrosse Gloves Option

STX Lacrosse Stallion 50 Youth Gloves

Great option for young lacrosse players at affordable price. Good quality-price ratio.

Check it on Amazon

If you can’t find, what you are looking for on the top links, take a look on the guides we made on how to choose the right equipment for young players, goalies and adults.

There is a lot more to say about lacrosse, the different versions and the beautiful history of lacrosse. I hope you got a little smart about what lacrosse is, and at least the duration time of a lacrosse game.

Remember there are always differences from the game to game when it comes to lacrosse, and it makes it a little difficult to understand, but if you just want to start playing, it is pretty simple and fun to start.

How long is a lacrosse game in real time?

Does lacrosse have a half time?

How many quarters are there in a lacrosse game?