Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long - handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick . It is a contact sport which requires padding such as shoulder pads , gloves , helmets , elbow pads , and sometimes even rib guards . The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh designed to catch and hold the lacrosse ball and can also be strung with hard mesh . There are many different styles like Canadian mesh , rocket pocket and normal mesh . 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 to do so . 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 . The sport has four major types : men ' s field lacrosse , women ' s lacrosse , box lacrosse and intercrosse . History . Lacrosse , a relatively popular team sport in the Americas , may have developed as early as AD 1100 . By the seventeenth century it was well - established and had been documented by Jesuit priests , although the game has undergone many modifications since that time . In the traditional aboriginal Canadian version , each team consisted of about 100 to 1 , 000 men on a field that stretched from about 500 meters to 3 kilometers long . These lacrosse games lasted from sunup to sundown for two to three days straight . These games were played as part of ceremonial ritual to give thanks to the master . Lacrosse played a significant role in the community and religious life of tribes across the continent for many years . Early lacrosse was characterized by deep spiritual involvement , befitting the spirit of combat in which it was undertaken . Those who took part did so in the role of warriors , with the goal of bringing glory and honor to themselves and their tribes . The game was said to be played " for the Creator " or was referred to as " The Creator ' s Game . " The French Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf saw Iroquois tribesmen play it in 1637 and was the first European to write about the game . He called it " la crosse " ( " the stick " ) . Some say the name originated from the French term for field hockey , " le jeu de la crosse " . Others suggest that it was named after the " crosier " , a staff carried by bishops . In 1856 , William George Beers , a Canadian dentist , founded the Montreal Lacrosse Club . In 1867 he codified the game , shortening the length of each game and reducing the number of players to twelve per team . The first game played under Beers ' rules was at Upper Canada College in 1867 , with Upper Canada College losing to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3 – 1 . By the 20th century , high school s , college s , and universities began playing the game . Lacrosse was contested as a demonstration sport in the 1928 and 1932 Olympics . On each occasion , a playoff was held to determine the American representative to the Olympics and on each occasion the playoffs were won by the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays . In the United States , lacrosse during the 1900s had primarily been a regional sport centered in and around the East Coast , more common in areas such as Connecticut , Maryland , New Hampshire , Massachusetts , New York , North Carolina , New Jersey , Pennsylvania , and Virginia . In the last half of the 20th century , the sport continued further growth west of this region in smaller areas , including the Midwest , such as Oklahoma and Texas as well as the West Coast , including Arizona , Utah , California , Colorado , Oregon , and Washington . In the first decade of the year 2000 , the sport has continued to grow in large numbers nationwide . Lacrosse is currently the fastest growing sport in the Midwest . Lacrosse is popular all across Canada , including Newfoundland and Labrador , Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island , New Brunswick , Quebec , Ontario , Manitoba , Saskatchewan , Alberta , British Columbia , and the northern territory of Nunavut . The sport has gained increasing visibility in the media , with a growth of college , high school , and youth programs throughout the country . The NCAA Men ' s Lacrosse Championship has very high attendance numbers in respect to NCAA tourneys . The growth of lacrosse was also facilitated by the introduction of plastic stick heads in the 1970s by Baltimore - based STX . This innovation reduced the weight and cost of the lacrosse stick . It also allowed for faster passes and game play than traditional wooden sticks . Up until the 1930s , all lacrosse was played on large fields outdoors . The owners of Canadian hockey arenas invented a reduced version of the game , called box lacrosse , as a means to make more profit from their arena investments . In a relatively short period of time , box lacrosse became the dominant form of the sport in Canada , in part due to the severe winter weather that limited outdoor play . More recently , field lacrosse has witnessed a revival in Canada as the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association ( CUFLA ) began operating a collegiate men ' s league in 1985 . It now includes 12 varsity teams . In 1994 , Canada declared lacrosse its national summer sport with the passage of the . In 1987 a men ' s professional box lacrosse league was started , called the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League . This league changed its name to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League , then later to the National Lacrosse League and grew to encompass men ' s lacrosse clubs in 12 cities throughout the United States and Canada . In the summer of 2001 , a men ' s professional field lacrosse league , known as Major League Lacrosse ( MLL ) , was inaugurated . Initially starting with three teams , the MLL has grown to a total of six clubs located in major metropolitan areas in the United States . On July 4 , 2008 , Major League Lacrosse set the professional lacrosse attendance record : 20 , 116 fans attended a game at Invesco Field in Denver , Colorado , USA . Types of play . Field lacrosse . There are ten players on each team : three attack , three midfielders , three defenders and a goalie . Each player carries a lacrosse stick ( or crosse ) . A " short crosse " ( or " short stick " ) measures between and long ( head and shaft together ) and is typically used by attackers or midfielders . A maximum of four players per team may carry a " long crosse " ( sometimes called " long pole " , " long stick " or " d - pole " ) which is to long ; typically used by defenders or midfielders . The head of the crosse on both long and short crosses must be or larger at its widest point . The throat of the lacrosse head for college must be at least 3 inches wide . There is no minimum width at its narrowest point in high school , the only provision is that the ball must roll out unimpeded . The designated goalkeeper is allowed to have a stick from to long and the head of a goalkeeper ' s crosse may measure up to wide , significantly larger than field players ' heads to assist in blocking shots . The field of play is long and wide . The goals are by . The goal sits inside a circular " crease " , measuring in diameter . Each offensive and defensive area is surrounded by a " restraining box . " Each quarter , and after each goal scored , play is restarted with a face - off . During a face - off , two players lay their stick horizontally next to the ball , head of the stick inches from the ball and the butt - end pointing down the midfield line . Face - off - men scrap for the ball , often by “ clamping ” it under their stick and flicking it out to their teammates . Attackers and defenders cannot cross their “ restraining line ” until one player from the midfield takes possession of the ball or the ball crosses the restraining line . If a member of one team touches the ball and it travels outside of the playing area , play is restarted by awarding possession to the opposing team . During play , teams may substitute players in and out freely . Sometimes this is referred to as " on the fly " substitution . Substitution must occur within the designated exchange area in order to be legal . For most penalties , the offending player is sent to the " penalty box " which is located between each team ' s bench . His team then must play without the player for a designated amount of time based upon the foul . ( Most penalties are " releasable " , that is , the penalty ends when a goal is scored by the non - offending team . ) Technical fouls ( such as offsides and holding ) result in either a turnover or a player ' s suspension of 30 seconds , while personal fouls are generally penalized one minute ( although some infractions , such as playing with a stick that does not meet the specifications of their designated level of play , may serve non - releasable penalties of up to three minutes ) . The team that has taken the penalty is said to be playing " man down " while the other team is on the " man up " . Teams will use various lacrosse strategies to attack and defend while a player is being penalized . Offsides is penalized by a 30 second penalty . It occurs when there are more than 7 players on the defensive side of the field , ( three midfielders / three defensemen / one goalkeeper ) , or more than 6 players from one team on the offensive side of the field ( three midfielders / three attack ) . The zones are separated by the midfield line . At the highest level , it is represented by the professional Major League Lacrosse ( MLL ) and on the collegiate level by the NCAA Division I in the United States . The first collegiate lacrosse program was established by New York University in 1877 , and the 1971 tournament was the first Men ' s Lacrosse Championship sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) . It is also played at a high level on the amateur level by the Australian Lacrosse League , the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association , and club lacrosse leagues internationally . Internationally , there are twenty two total members of the Federation of International Lacrosse ( FIL ) , only United States , Canada , Australia , and the Iroquois Nationals have finished in the top three places at the World Lacrosse Championship s . The World Lacrosse Championship began as a four - team invitational tournament in 1968 sanctioned by the " International Lacrosse Federation " . Lacrosse at the Olympics was a medal - earning sport in the 1904 Summer Olympics and the 1908 Summer Olympics . Lacrosse was a demonstration sport in the 1928 Summer Olympics , 1932 Summer Olympics , and the 1948 Summer Olympics . The men ' s professional Major League Lacrosse strayed from some of the established field lacrosse rules of international , college , and high school programs . With intentions to increase scoring , the league employed a sixty second shot clock and a two – point goal for shots taken outside a designated perimeter . The MLL has been bolstered by a ten year television contract with ESPN in 2007 . Box lacrosse . Box lacrosse is played by teams of six on a hockey rink where the ice has been removed or covered by artificial turf . The enclosed playing area is called a box , in contrast to the open playing field of the traditional game . This version of the game was introduced in the 1930s to promote business for hockey arenas , and within several years had nearly supplanted field lacrosse in Canada . Box lacrosse is played at the highest level by the " Senior A " divisions of the Canadian Lacrosse Association and the National Lacrosse League ( NLL ) . The National Lacrosse League employs some minor rule changes from the Canadien Lacrosse Association ( CLA ) rules . Notably , the games are played during the winter , the NLL games consist of four fifteen - minute quarters compared with three periods of twenty minutes each ( similar to ice hockey ) in CLA games ( multiple 15 - minute OT periods for tied games , until whoever scores first ) , and that NLL players may use only sticks with hollow shafts , while CLA permits solid wooden sticks . The goals in box lacrosse are much smaller than field lacrosse , traditionally wide by tall in box , and wide by tall in the NLL . Also , the goaltender wears much more protective padding , including a massive chest protector and armguard combination known as " uppers " , large shin guards known as leg pads ( both of which must follow strict measurement guidelines ) , and ice hockey - style masks or lacrosse helmets . Also , at the professional level , box lacrosse goaltenders often use traditional wooden sticks outside of the NLL , which does not allow wooden sticks . This makes Box Lacrosse faster and rougher than the traditional Field Lacrosse . The style of the game is quick , accelerated by the close confines of the floor and a shot clock . The shot clock requires the attacking team to take a shot on goal within 30 seconds of gaining possession of the ball . In addition , players must advance the ball from their own defensive end to the offensive side of the floor within 10 seconds . Box lacrosse is also a much more physical game . Since cross checking is legal in box lacrosse players wear rib pads in addition to the shoulder and elbow pads that field lacrosse players wear . Box lacrosse players wear a different type of helmet as well . The helmet they wear is a hockey helmet with a box lacrosse cage . For most penalties , the offending player is sent to the penalty box and his team has to play without him and with one less player for a short amount of time . Most penalties last for two minutes , unless a five minute major penalty has been assessed . What separates box lacrosse ( and ice hockey ) from other sports is that at the top levels of professional and junior lacrosse , a five - minute major penalty is given and the players are not ejected for participating in a fight . Internationally , the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship s are held every four years and are sponsored by the Federation of International Lacrosse . Only eight nations have competed in these competitions , and only Canada , Iroquois Nationals and the United States have finished in the most coveted 1st , 2nd and 3rd places at these events . Women ' s lacrosse . The rules of women ' s lacrosse differ significantly from men ' s lacrosse , most notably by equipment and the degree of allowable physical contact . Women ' s lacrosse does not promote physical contact primarily because the only protective equipment worn for this sport is a mouth guard and face guard and sometimes thin gloves . Stick checking ( if the head of the stick is below the shoulder only ) , and not body checking as in men ' s lacrosse , is permitted in women ' s lacrosse . Although sometimes checking can lead to body checking . While this is still not permitted in a women ' s game some referees will allow limited body checking . The first modern women ' s lacrosse game was held at St Leonards School in Scotland in 1890 . It was introduced by the school ' s headmistress Louisa Lumsden after a visit to Quebec . The first women ' s lacrosse team in the United States was established at Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore , USA in 1926 . Men ’ s and women ’ s lacrosse were played under virtually the same rules , with no protective equipment , until the mid - 1930s . Internationally , the game is commonly played in British girls ' independent school s , and while only a minor sport in Australia , it is played to a very high standard at the elite level , where its national squad won the 2005 Women ' s Lacrosse World Cup . The 2009 Women ' s World Cup was played in Prague , Czech Republic . College lacrosse . Lacrosse in the United States is played at the collegiate level in both the club and sanctioned team sport . There are currently 63 NCAA sanctioned Division I men ' s lacrosse teams , 46 Division II men ' s lacrosse teams , and 189 Division III men ' s lacrosse teams . There are also currently 91 Division I women ' s lacrosse teams , 57 Division II women ' s lacrosse Teams , and 201 Division III women ' s lacrosse teams . 209 collegiate men ' s club teams compete at the Men ' s Collegiate Lacrosse Association level , including most major universities in the United States . Another 107 schools have club teams in the National College Lacrosse League . The first U . S . intercollegiate game was played on November 22 , 1877 between New York University and Manhattan College . Lacrosse had been introduced in upstate New York in the 1860s . Lacrosse was further introduced to the Baltimore area in the 1890s . These two areas continue to be the hotbeds of college lacrosse in the U . S . The first intercollegiate lacrosse tournament was held in 1881 , with Harvard beating Princeton , 3 - 0 , in the championship game . The NCAA men ' s Lacrosse Division I in 1971 , when Cornell took the first championship over Maryland , 12 – 6 . Johns Hopkins has 9 championships with three consecutive wins from 1978 to 1980 . The other two teams that have three consecutive wins are Syracuse from 1988 to 1990 and Princeton from 1996 to 1998 . Syracuse also holds the NCAA record of championships with 11 , the last occurring in 2009 . In 2010 Duke took their first NCAA Championship over Notre Dame in an exciting 6 - 5 overtime game . The Division I national championship tournament draws one of the largest crowds of any Division I NCAA sport . The NCAA men ' s Lacrosse Division III is growing at a much faster rate than Division I . There are currently 189 Division III teams playing in 20 difference conferences in 2012 compared to 130 teams in 2005 . Salisbury State University was the 2012 Division III national champion . There is also the MCLA . This is Mens Club Lacrosse Association . It is played at schools that do not have a NCAA lacrosse team . There are two divisions . The 2012 Division I MCLA champion was Colorado State University and Division II was won by the University of St . Thomas . NCAA women ' s Lacrosse Division I began play in 1982 . The University of Maryland , College Park has traditionally dominated the women ' s intercollegiate play , producing many head coaches across the country and many U . S . national team players . The Terrapins won seven consecutive NCAA championships , from 1995 through 2001 . Princeton University ' s women ' s teams have made it to the final game seven times since 1993 and have won three NCAA titles , in 1993 , 2002 , and 2003 . In recent years , Northwestern University has become a force , winning the national championship from 2005 through 2009 . Maryland ended Northwestern ' s streak by defeating the Wildcats in the 2010 final . International lacrosse . Lacrosse has been played for the most part in Canada and the United States , with small but dedicated lacrosse communities in the United Kingdom and Australia . Recently , however , lacrosse has begun to flourish at an international level with the sport establishing itself in many new and far - reaching countries , particularly in Europe and east Asia . With lacrosse not having been an official Olympic sport since 1908 , the pinnacle of international lacrosse competition consists of the quadrennial World Championships . Currently , there are world championships for lacrosse at senior men , senior women , under 19 men and under 19 women level . Until 1986 , lacrosse world championships had only been contested by the United States , Canada , England and Australia , with Scotland and Wales also competing in the women ' s edition . The expansion of the game internationally saw the 2006 Men ' s World Championship contested by 21 countries , and the 2009 Women ' s World Cup competed for by 16 nations . In 2003 , the first World Indoor Lacrosse Championship was contested by six nations at four sites in Ontario . Canada won the championship in a final game against the Iroquois , 21 - 4 . The 2007 WILC was held in Halifax from May 14 – 20 , and also won by Canada . Teams from Australia , Canada , Czech Republic , England , Ireland , Iroquois Nationals , Scotland and the United States competed . The next largest international field lacrosse competition is the European Lacrosse Championships . Held for both men and women , the European Lacrosse Federation ( ELF ) has been running the European Championships since 1995 . Before 2001 the Championships were an annual event , but in 2001 the ELF changed the format to every four years between the World Championship . Before 2004 , only 7 nations had ever participated , but in 2004 there was a record number of participating countries , with 12 men ' s and 6 women ' s , which made it the largest international lacrosse event of 2004 . The European Lacrosse Championships were held in Lahti , Finland in 2008 , with 18 competing countries . England placed first with the Netherlands and Germany placing second and third , respectively . The most recent ELF Championships were held in Amsterdam in 2012 . England was victorious over Ireland in the championship game and Sweden took third place . The World Lacrosse Championships have been dominated by the United States , particularly in the men ' s game , where the only world championship game losses at either level was in the 1978 final and 2006 final , both to Canada . The USA has won 9 of the 11 senior men ' s and all six under 19 men ' s tournaments to date . In the women ' s game , Australia have provided stiffer competition , having won 6 of 14 games against the USA at senior world championships , including one draw . The USA has won 6 of the 8 senior women ' s and 2 of the 3 under 19 women ' s tournaments to date , with the other world championships won by Australia . The Iroquois Nationals are a team consisting of members of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy . The team was admitted to the International Lacrosse Federation ( ILF ) in 1990 . It is the only Native Canadian team sanctioned to compete in any sport internationally . The Nationals placed fourth in the 1998 , 2002 and 2006 World Lacrosse Championship s . In 2008 , the Iroquois were admitted as the Haudenosunee Nation to the International Federation of Women ' s Lacrosse Associations ( IFWLA ) as one of that governing body ' s final acts . One obstacle to the international development of lacrosse had been the existence of separate governing bodies for the men ' s and women ' s versions of the sport , with men ' s lacrosse being governed by ILF and the women ' s version by IFWLA . In August 2008 , after four years of negotiation , the two bodies merged to form a single unified body , the Federation of International Lacrosse ( FIL ) . All championships previously operated by the ILF and IFWLA were taken over by the FIL . The FIL hosted the 2010 World Lacrosse Championship in Manchester , England , between 15 July to 24 July 2010 . The 2014 World Lacrosse Championship will be held in Denver , Colorado .