Men and Women's Lacrosse: Not the Same Game

Men and women's lacrosse not only have different gear but their game is different also. Differences range from the length and size of their field to the length of the game.

Women's Lacrosse Field

Men's Lacrosse Field

Field:
First of all, the layout of field is entirely different. Looking at the diagrams of the fields, you and see that they look about the same but they are completely different. In men’s lacrosse, the field measures 110 yards long and 60 yards wide. In women’s lacrosse, the field is a bit bigger: 120 yards long and 70 yards wide. The men's restraining line is closer to the circle while the women's line is farther away from the circle. The women's game uses the eight meter arc around the goal circle more than the men's game. One of the major rules in the women's game is that a defender must remain a stick's length away from their opponent while in the eight meter arc. The defender cannot be in the 8 meter arc not guarding anyone for longer than three seconds or else they will get a foul and the opposing team will have to take a penalty shot. In the men's game, there are no penalty shots. 

Contact:
In women's lacrosse, players are not allowed to have body contact between the defender and the player with the ball. The defender is also not allowed to "rough check" or swing her stick at her opponents stick aggressively. The only way the defender to safely take the ball from her opponent without getting any fouls is by a controlled check or a couple of taps on her opponent's stick head. Defenders are also not allowed to put any part of their opponent. This could result in a major foul such as a yellow card and the defender must sit out of the game for two minutes.

In men's lacrosse, nearly anything goes as far as how the defense can free the ball. They are, however, not allowed to push from behind and cannot attack their opponent's head.

Penalties: 

Penalties in women's lacrosse is a lot like soccer. The fouled team is awarded separation from the nearest defender and then they start to play again. When the foul is made, the referee calls the foul and every girl close to the girl that was fouled on, must move five meters away from her. Five meters is about five yards on a football field. If the penalty was made near the goal, the fouled player is awarded a free position shot where she is put on the closest hash mark around the eight meter arc. All the players are then suppose to move out of the eight meter arc and about five meters away from the fouled player. The fouled player then has the choice to either shoot the ball or pass it onto a teammate. 

Penalties in men's lacrosse is a lot like hockey. The player must leave the field for a period of time if a major foul was made. Minor fouls result in a change of possession.

Player Positioning:

In women's lacrosse, there are twelve players for each team on a field at one time. There are seven attackers, seven defenders, and one goalie. 

In men's lacrosse, there are ten players for each team on a field at one time. At least three players must remain on each half of the field. 

Men and Women's Lacrosse: Same Sport, Different Gear

With almost every sport, there is a men's and women's game. There are only slight differences between the two like rules. Men and women's basketball is basically the same game. They are both using slightly similar basketballs to shoot into a net that is at the same height. When it comes to lacrosse, the men and women's games are about the complete opposite of each other but they still have the same ambition to score more points than their opponent.

At first glance, you can tell that there is a significant difference between the men and women's games. Men are required to wear more gear than women. The pictures above show the difference in gear for both games. Men wear a lot of padding and also wear helmets. Women do not wear any padding at all but wear an eye mask, often known as goggles. Both are required to wear mouth guards to protect their teeth. Women have the option of wearing gloves which helps when the weather is cold while men are required to wear gloves. Cleats are often suggested to players to wear during games to prevent the player from slipping and falling.

Men and women's lacrosse sticks are even different. Men's lacrosse stick heads using mesh to create a pocket while a women's stick only uses string. The pocket on a men's stick is required to be very deep where you cannot see the ball above the sidewall while the women's stick's pocket cannot be deep and you need to be able to see the ball halfway above the sidewall. The shaft part of the stick is also significantly different. Women's lacrosse stick shafts are all the same length but women are also allowed to have an attack men's lacrosse shaft. They are shorter and thicker than a women's lacrosse stick. Defensive men's lacrosse players play with a stick that is over 5 feet tall. 

The Creator's Game

In order to fully understand lacrosse, you must know how and when it was all created. Long before Christopher Columbus arrived on American shores, Native Americans were playing lacrosse. M.B. Roberts states in his book Lacrosse: The Player's Handbook that Native Americans have been playing since the 1400s. They called lacrosse The Creator's Game. Native Americans believed that the Creator gave them lacrosse for his own amusement. Players honored the Great Spirit at the beginning of every match, raising their sticks high before the face-off and yelling the spirit's name as they initiated play. They played lacrosse during religious ceremonies and holidays and even when the seasons began to change. Early Native American lacrosse games were often massive events with hundreds of players.

Their sticks were a lot different than the sticks you see today. Native Americans built their own sticks out of wood and string was used for the net. The head of the stick were also larger than modern lacrosse sticks. They also used wooden balls. Today, lacrosse players use a dense rubber ball. 

Misunderstood Sport

Most people know the game of lacrosse but don't quite understand how the game is played. My goal is to better educated people that are willing to take the time to learn more about the sport that was created by Native Americans. Lacrosse isn't like other sports like basketball and soccer. It does have the basic concepts like hockey, basketball, and soccer but it is it's own distinct sport. Lacrosse may seem like a very confusing sport, but anyone can learn the game if they are willing to take the time to.