Lacrosse words · Beginner

The Olympic format of lacrosse, played by two teams of six: five field players and a goalkeeper. A team scores by putting the ball in the opponent's goal and tries to stop the other team getting the ball and scoring. The ball is carried, thrown or batted with the stick, or rolled or kicked, within the rules.

The player wearing the mandatory goalkeeper equipment. Each team must have a goalkeeper on the field at all times. A field player who replaces the goalkeeper must wear that equipment and is deemed the goalkeeper.

A rectangle 70 m long and 36 m wide for World Lacrosse events. It has a center-line across the middle, a center marking with a draw circle of 5 m radius, and boundary lines: sidelines on the long sides and end lines on the short sides.

The center-line divides the field into two zones. The half with the goal a team defends is its defensive zone and the other half is its offensive zone; each is the opposite team's zone the other way round.

Two vertical posts joined by a crossbar, 1.83 m high and 1.83 m wide inside, with a pyramid-shaped net. Goals are orange and stand 25 m from the midline, centred on the width of the field.

The circle of 3 m radius around each goal, centred on the middle of the goal line. The goalkeeper has special privileges while inside it, and a player is in the crease if any part of the body, including on the line, touches it.

A game has four quarters of eight minutes. There is a two-minute break between the first and second and between the third and fourth quarters, and a five-minute half-time. Teams change direction of play after each quarter.

A visible 30-second clock that starts when a team gains possession. If it expires without a shot on goal, the ball goes to the defence. It resets on a change of possession, after a goal, after penalty time, and when a shot hits the pipe or the goalkeeper in the crease, among other cases.

How each quarter and overtime period begins. Two players contest the ball at the center of the field while the other players stay outside the 5 m circle. The official places the ball between the sticks, says 'set', and the draw begins at the whistle. If a period ends with a team in possession and an extra player situation, play resumes with that team keeping the ball.

A goal is scored when the ball, loose or not, passes completely through the plane of the goal. It does not count if the shot is released after time expires or the shot clock runs out, after a whistle, if an attacker interferes with the goalkeeper in the crease, or if an offensive player commits a violation before the ball enters. An own goal is credited to the other team's in-home.

A player is in possession when in control of the ball so as to carry, cradle, pass or shoot it. A team has possession when a player has it or when the ball is passed between teammates by throwing, bouncing or rolling it. The goalkeeper is in possession under the stick in the crease while touching it.

A ball that is not in any player's possession or any team's possession. A ground ball is a loose ball on the ground that can be played.

The ball is live once the whistle starts or restarts play and dead once the whistle stops it, for a goal, out of bounds or a foul.

When a player with the ball steps on or over a boundary line, or any part of their stick or body touches the ground over it, they lose possession. A loose ball that touches a boundary or leaves the field goes to the opponent of the team that last touched it, including a shot that misses without touching a defender.

A less serious foul. If the offending team has the ball, or it is loose, the ball goes to the other team at the spot. If the non-offending team has possession, the player who fouled is suspended for 30 seconds.

A more serious foul, punished by a one-minute suspension from the game and usually the ball to the other team. Three major fouls by the same player means they foul out.