Everything You Need to Know About the 2024 PLL Championship Series
Inside The St. James
The St. James, a 20-acre, 450,000-square-foot multi-purpose sports complex in Springfield, Va., drew rave reviews from players, coaches and fans after last year's Championship Series. It is the official training center of Major League Soccer's D.C. United.
Format and Rules
Lacrosse’s appearance in the 2028 Olympics will be in the Sixes format, a 6-v-6 discipline in which players must play both offense and defense. Every player carries a short stick and essentially play like midfielders. The field is 70-by-36 meters.
There are three distinct features in traditional Sixes that make the discipline compelling.
Firstly, possession is supreme. If a shot goes out of bounds, it is a turnover — unlike the field game. Secondly, there is a 30-second shot clock — the fastest in the sport. And finally, there are no faceoffs after goals. There is essentially an inbound pass like in basketball, with the goalie picking up the ball out of the cage and starting the next play.
The PLL added another wrinkle with a two-point arc that encourages shooting from distance.
Miezan Madness
Ricky Miezan will make his Premier Lacrosse League debut with the California Redwoods, and the league announced that it will be following him every step of the way. A former Stanford football captain who spent the 2023 spring season with the Virginia men’s lacrosse team, Miezan could parlay a strong showing in the tournament to a PLL contract for the summer.
