page_title: Lacrosse strategy
section_title: Settled offense: the 2-3-1
hierarchical_section_title: Lacrosse strategy / Settled offense: the 2-3-1
caption_attribution_description: English: Rotation for 2-3-1 offense in lacrosse.
context_page_description: The game of lacrosse is played using a combination of offensive and defensive strategies. Offensively, the objective of the game is to score by shooting the ball into an opponent's goal, using the lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball. Defensively, the objective is to keep the opposing team from scoring and to dispossess them of the ball through the use of stick checking and body contact or positioning.
context_section_description: The most common offense used in settled situations is known as the "2-3-1" (sometimes counted in the opposite direction, as a 1-3-2, or shortened to be called the 1-3 or 13). The numbering begins with the two midfielders at the top of the field, then continues to the two attackmen on the wings and the midfielder on the crease, and finally the last attackman located at "X", the position behind the goal.
  The offensive team should pass the ball around the perimeter and look for weaknesses in the defense. They will also rotate, in two triangles. The midfielders will rotate in a triangle, across the top, and to and from the crease. The attackmen will rotate to and from X, and across the crease to the opposite wing. A player may "carry" the ball in a rotation as well; for example, a middie at the top right will carry to the top left, while the top left middie will cut to the crease, and the crease midfielder will cut into the space where the ball carrier came from.
  Driving to the goal is aided by the triangle rotations, as it is difficult for the defense to keep track of the cutting players and the player who is attempting to drive to the goal. Some players prefer to drive from the midfield positions, as they do not have to turn to shoot, and they are often driving against a short stick defender. Other players prefer to drive from the wings and X, as it is often easier to pass to other players, who are more likely to be facing the goal for an easier shot.
caption: 2-3-1 Triangle Rotations
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