BOILING SPRINGS --- With the inaugural season of women's lacrosse set to begin this coming spring on the Gardner-Webb campus, head coach Jacquelyn Duggins and the Gardner-Webb athletic department would like to present Runnin' Bulldog Lacrosse 101: an eight-part educational series on the game of lacrosse covering the basic rules, positions, field setup, and origins of the game. This week, fans will be introduced to the basics of the game, as well as its origins.

The Basics

Women's lacrosse is played using sticks comprised of a hollow metal shaft, typically measuring 35.5 to 43.25 inches long, and a molded plastic head with a shallow netted pocket. These sticks are used to carry, throw and shoot a ball along a field with the objective of scoring goals. A goal counts as one point and is awarded when the ball completely crosses the opposing goal line between the posts and under the crossbar. The team that scores the greatest number of goals in the allotted time is declared the winner of the game.

What Do I Need To Play?

To play a game of women's lacrosse, you will need a lacrosse stick, a solid rubber lacrosse ball, a team uniform with kilt or shorts, gloves, sneakers or cleats, a mouth guard and protective goggles. Goalkeepers wear extra padding in addition to a full helmet.

How Long Is A Game?

A game is generally divided into two thirty-minute halves with a ten-minute break in between. Each half begins with a "draw" at the center circle between two opposing players. Team captains choose playing sides based on a coin flip before the game, and change sides at halftime.

If the score is tied at the end of regular playing time, both teams will have a five-minute rest and toss a coin for choice of ends. Six minutes (two three-minute periods) of stop-clock overtime will be played (Overtime one). The clock will be stopped after three minutes of play in order for teams to change ends with no delay for coaching. The game will be restarted by a center draw. The team that is leading at the end of six minutes wins the game.

If the teams are still tied after six minutes have elapsed, the teams will have a three-minute rest and change ends. The winner will then be decided on a "sudden-victory" stop-clock overtime of not more than six minutes in length with the teams changing ends after three minutes (Overtime two). The game will be restarted by a center draw. The team scoring the first goal wins the game. Play will continue with "sudden-victory" stop-clock overtime periods of six minutes in length, with three minutes in between and a change of ends, until a winning goal is scored.

Origins Of The Game

The game of women's lacrosse originated hundreds of years ago with the Indians of North America, who played a form of the men's game during their battle preparations. It was not until the mid-19th century that the English first played a stick and ball game meant solely for women. Competing girls' schools began playing this early ancestor of the modern game in the 1860's. Many of the general rules which governed those first games resemble those used in today's modern game.

Stay tuned for next week's edition of Runnin' Bulldog Lacrosse 101, when we tackle the first of two lessons covering the basic playing rules which govern the sport of women's lacrosse.