Additional One-Minute Penalties Approved, 11-v-11 Rescinded in Women's Lacrosse

To curtail physical play outside the critical scoring area in women's lacrosse, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel on Wednesday approved increasing the scenarios when teams have the advantage of playing a player up.

Green cards, which are one-minute releasable penalties, will be given to teams committing fouls such as: 

• Blocking/illegal picks.

• Charging.

• Cross checks.

• Forcing through.

• Holding.

• Illegal use of the stick.

• Pushing.

• Tripping.

A one-minute releasable penalty would also be issued for these types of fouls when occurring between the restraining lines.  

Officials also can give a five-minute red card for contact to the body if they think the contact warrants a greater penalty. All red cards are now a five-minute nonreleasable penalty instead of the previous two-minute penalty. 

THREE SECONDS

The panel approved tweaking the three-second rule, specifying that a defender must be an arm and stick length away when guarding a player inside the 8-meter arc. Previously, the rule was the defender had to be a stick length away. 

Defensive players will still be penalized for three-second violations if they are not marking a player inside the 8-meter arc. Any defensive player inside the 8-meter arc must be guarding another player and can't be in the middle of the arc without marking a player.

OTHER RULE CHANGES

• Clarified that lacrosse-specific ND200 close-fitting padded compression shirts can be worn underneath players' jerseys. 

• The time that players are serving cardable penalties will not only carry over into the next period or overtime, as the current rule states, but the team will retain possession at the spot of the ball or dot if within the critical scoring area.

• Any player on the team awarded a free position can take possession of the ball unless an 8-meter free position shot is awarded. In that case, the free position must be taken by the player who was fouled.

• Players who fake/embellish being fouled will be issued a one-minute penalty.

• Regardless of the result of the shot, if a whistle is blown for a shooting-space violation simultaneous with or immediately after a shot, the penalty will not be administered.

• If the defensive team has too many players below the restraining line in its defensive end, it will result in a one-minute penalty.

• When an official instructs a player to leave the field, players can be issued a delay-of-game penalty if they do not leave the field at once.

• The NCAA Women's Lacrosse Rules Committee has continued video review as an experimental rule with some modification. Officials can use video review per their discretion when the offender of a cardable foul cannot be identified or in instances of flopping or embellishment fouls and cardable fouls on any review involving the goal circle.

Also, shoes can have soles containing aluminum, leather, rubber, nylon or plastic cleats, studs or bars, whether molded as part of the sole or detachable, if the official does not consider them dangerous.

RESCINDED PROPOSAL

After receiving feedback from the membership, the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Rules Committee rescinded a proposal for 6-v-6 play when the ball is possessed below the restraining line and 11-v-11 in total.

However, teams can experiment with 6-v-6 rule below the restraining line during non-traditional fall competition. Committee members will seek feedback from teams that experiment with this rule.