NFHS/USAL Rule 13: Excerpt from "Girls Lacrosse for Beginners 2025"

Rule 13 Definition of Terms

Rule 13 is actually not a rule.  It is a helpful glossary of terms to assist in understanding the rules. Here is a selection of terms:

• 8 METER ARC – An area formed at both goals that begins at the Goal Circle and extends 8 meters beyond and in front of the Goal Circle.
• 12 METER FAN – A semi-circle formed at both goals, touching the GLE and extending 12 meters from the Goal Circle. The 12 Meter Fan forms the Critical Score Area above the Goal Line Extended.
• BLOCKING – Moving into the path of a player with the ball without giving that player a chance to stop or change direction causing contact.
• CHARGING – A player with the ball pushes into, shoulders, or backs into and makes bodily contact with an opponent who has already established position (though not necessarily stationary).
• CHECKING – An attempt to dislodge the ball from an opponent’s crosse by using controlled crosse-to-crosse contact.
• CRITICAL SCORING AREA (CSA) – An area formed by the 12 Meter Fan above the Goal Line Extended (GLE) and continuing below the GLE to the endline.
• CROSS[E]-CHECK – Using the shaft of the crosse to hit, push, or displace an opponent.
• DANGEROUS PLAY – Any action that is rough, threatening, and/or are without regard to player safety.
• DEPUTY – A player on the defensive goalkeeper’s team who may only enter or remain in the goal circle when the deputy’s team is in possession of the ball and the goalkeeper is out of the goal circle.
• FLAG – Recognition and advantage of a Major Foul committed by the defense in the CSA while the attack is on a scoring play.
• GOAL LINE EXTENDED (GLE) – The imaginary extension of the Goal Line that is located between both posts of a Goal. The GLE divides the CSA into areas “Above the GLE” (in front of the Goal) and “Below the GLE” (behind the Goal).
• HASH MARKS – Marks for penalty administration on the 8 Meter Arc. The “Hanging Hash Mark” is the mark located outside the Arc and along the edge of the “Pie.”
• HELD WHISTLE - Refraining from enforcing a rule when a player is fouled but maintains quality possession; and calling a foul would disadvantage the non-offending team.
• LOWER SIDE OF CROSSE – The wooden part on the head of a wooden crosse or the right side on a plastic crosse as one looks at the crosse with the pocket open to the viewer.
• PENALTY ZONE – The area formed by the 8 Meter Arc, the marks 8 meters away from the goal circle on the GLE, and the area formed by the dots below the GLE. 
• PICK – A technique in which a player without the ball, whose positioning, forces the opponent to take another route. To be legal it must be set within the visual field of the opponent allowing enough time and space to stop or change direction. A legal pick may be moving or stationery. 
• “PIE” – An unofficial reference to the pie-shaped area formed by the arms of the 8 Meter Arc, the “Hanging Hash Mark,” and the GLE.
• PLAYED – An action whereby the ball leaves the player’s crosse and is touched by another player, or crosse is checked crosse-to-crosse by an opposing player, or play is stopped due to a foul by an opponent. The ball does not have to be successfully dislodged from the crosse.
• PLAYING DISTANCE – The length of a stick and a half. 
• SCORING PLAY – A continuous effort by the attacking team to move the ball toward the goal and to complete a shot on goal. 
• SLASH – A reckless, dangerous, or uncontrolled swing of the crosse at an opponent’s crosse or body whether or not the opponent’s crosse or body is struck.
• SLOW WHISTLE – See FLAG.
• SPHERE – An imaginary area of 7 inches (average crosse width) surrounding a player’s head and excluding hair whether or not a helmet is worn.

 

NFHS/USAL Rule 1 (Part 3): Excerpt from "Girls Lacrosse for Beginners 2025"

The Critical Scoring Area (CSA)

The Critical Scoring Area (CSA) has already been mentioned in relation to the field. The CSA is defined as the area inside the 12m fan and extending to the end line.

The CSA includes the area defined by the 12m fan as well as the area defined by an imaginary line drawn from where the 12m fan intersects the Goal Line Extended to the End Line.

Sometimes the entire CSA needs to be considered for play, and sometimes there is a need to differentiate between play above and play below the GLE but in the CSA.  Here are the two areas of the CSA – above and below:

There are two dots located in the CSA below the GLE that are used for penalty administration.  These dots are five yards below the GLE from the 8m mark on the GLE.

The 8m Arc

Included in the CSA but also an area in itself (sometimes) is the area defined by the 8m Arc.  The 8m Arc has five hash marks on it for penalty administration.

Moving out of the 8m Arc, but staying within the CSA, you will notice an area on both sides of each goal that is shaped like a slice of pie.  The unofficial term for this is “The Pie.”  Within “The Pie” is another hash mark called “The Hanging Hash.”

Penalties may not be administered (set-up) closer that 8m from the goal.  Penalties within “The Pie” are set-up on this hanging hash.

The Goal Circle

Finally, there is the goal circle.  There are different rules at different levels that control play in and around the goal circle.

The Goal itself is a simple 6x6 foot square.  The line on the ground is supposed to be two inches wide, which is the approximate width of the pipes that make up the frame of the goal.  The front of the goal pipes should be on the front edge of the goal line. A goal is scored when the entire ball crosses the goal line – either in the air or on the ground.  It is possible for a goalkeeper inadvertently to score a goal on herself by carrying the ball across the goal line in her crosse.

Add to the field markings for Soccer, Field Hockey, Football, and Boys Lacrosse and you will understand some of the challenges for players, coaches, and umpires. Indoor facilities can get even more confusing.  Everyone on the field seems to be able to function, however, with a lot of understanding and cooperation.

NFHS/USAL Rule 1 (Part 2): Excerpt from "Girls Lacrosse for Beginners 2025"

The Center Circle

There are several “areas” on the Girls Lacrosse field that shape play and penalty administration. First, there is the Center Circle.  The Draw occurs in this area.  Once the Draw takes place this area “disappears into the Field.

The Field

Once the Draw is completed, the Field is the next area to be considered.  The Field may be understood as all playing areas outside of the two Critical Scoring Areas.

Restraining Lines

The Restraining Lines themselves are not really areas, but in a sense, boundary lines that define an area on the field for the purposes of limiting play in a team’s goal area to seven-on-seven (plus a goalie).

NFHS/USAL Rule 1 (Part 1): Excerpt from "Girls Lacrosse for Beginners 2025"

Rule 1 the Playing Area and Goal

Rule 1 of the National Federation of High Schools Girls Lacrosse Rules Book addresses the playing area and goals.

There is some flexibility in the size of the Girls Lacrosse Field.  The maximum playing area is 140 x 70 yards, and the minimum is 110 x 60 yards. The goals should be no less than 90 yards and no more than one hundred yards apart. There must be a minimum of ten yards or a maximum of twenty yards of space behind each goal line to the boundary line. There must be 4m of space between the sideline boundary and the scorer’s table. There should be at least 4m of space between the other sideline and any spectator area.

Typically, a Girls Lacrosse field is played on a high school football field that measures 120 yards x 160 feet. Actually, the National Federation of High Schools rules book for football measures a football field (including the end zones) in feet, so the field is by rule 360 feet x 160 feet. In yards a football field is 120 yards x 53.33 yards.

Why is this important? Well, there is such a thing in Lacrosse as “Unified Field” markings. The Unified Field MUST BE 120 YARDS IN LENGTH. The width may vary between sixty yards and 53.33 yards.

Again, why is this important? The sidelines and endlines for Lacrosse Unified Field markings may also be the same as football. IF DIRECTORS OF ATHLETICS WOULD ONLY USE THE SAME BOUNDARY MARKINGS FOR FOOTBALL, BOYS LACROSSE, AND GIRLS LACROSSE THEY WOULD ELIMINATE TWO EXTRA SETS OF LINES AND A LOT OF CONFUSION!

Also, there is often a significant error when Directors of Athletics attempt to use Unified Field markings at their facility.  It is obvious that what many Directors of Athletics do is tell the Boys Lacrosse coach to mark the field; and then tell the Girls Lacrosse coach to unify the field.  There is a problem, however.

What happens is that the Boys Lacrosse coach will invariably use the markings for a Boys Lacrosse field – 110 yards long, with the goal line 15 yards from each endline. This places the center line for Boys Lacrosse 40 yards from each goal line and each restraining line 20 yards from the center line and the goal lines.

When the Girls Lacrosse coach goes to put her field markings on to the Boys Lacrosse markings she will find that it is not possible. The Unified Field must be exactly 120 yards long with the Unified goal lines 15 yards from the end lines and the restraining lines 40 yards from the goal lines.  This incorrect measuring of the length of the Unified Field leads to three possible errors or difficulties:

1. The end line markings run through the football end zones and the additional logos that are often placed there and not along the football end lines creating some visibility problems.
2. The Girls Lacrosse 12m Fans is pushed 5 yards closer to the restraining lines creating a safety problem.
3. The Girls Lacrosse restraining lines are ten yards closer to the center line creating a safety problem.

You will notice already a mixing of English and metric measurements. That mixture continues throughout the game and is illustrative of the complexity that is in part self-inflicted.

 The Field Markings