How the Game Is Played
Lacrosse is one of the fastest-growing sports in Utah high schools, blending speed, physicality, and skill into a uniquely exciting game. Two teams of ten players (in boys’ lacrosse) or twelve players (in girls’ lacrosse) use long-handled sticks with mesh pockets to carry, pass, catch, and shoot a small rubber ball into the opposing team’s goal.
Boys’ lacrosse involves full contact with body checks, stick checks, and physical defensive play. Girls’ lacrosse is a non-contact sport with different rules around stick checking and protective equipment. Both versions emphasize fast transitions, crisp passing, and accurate shooting. The game is played on a field similar in size to a football field, with a goal at each end surrounded by a circular crease.
Scoring
Goals are the unit of scoring in lacrosse. A goal counts when the ball completely crosses the goal line inside the goal:
- Settled offense goals — scored from set plays, dodges, and passing sequences in the attacking zone
- Fast break goals — scored during transition when the offense outnumbers the defense
- Man-up goals — scored while the opposing team is short a player due to a penalty
- Unassisted goals — individual efforts, often from dodges around defenders
- Assisted goals — scored off a pass from a teammate, rewarding ball movement
Goals come quickly in lacrosse, and high-scoring games are common. A competitive high school game might see each team score 8–15 goals.
Period Structure
Utah high school boys’ lacrosse games consist of four 12-minute quarters with a running clock (the clock stops in the final two minutes of each half if the score is within a certain margin). Girls’ lacrosse also uses four periods with similar timing. Halftime is 10 minutes.
Each team receives two timeouts per half. If the game is tied after regulation, overtime periods are played — typically 4-minute sudden-victory periods until a team scores.
UHSAA Rules
Lacrosse has grown rapidly in Utah and is sanctioned by the UHSAA. The association follows US Lacrosse and NFHS guidelines with state-specific rules:
- Equipment (boys’): Helmets, shoulder pads, arm pads, and gloves are mandatory. All equipment must meet NOCSAE standards.
- Equipment (girls’): Goggles and mouthguards are required. Helmets are optional for field players but mandatory for goalkeepers.
- Penalties: Personal fouls (illegal body checks, slashing, cross-checking) result in 1–3 minute man-down situations. Technical fouls result in 30-second penalties.
- Classification: Lacrosse is divided into divisions based on program size and competitive history, with each division holding its own state tournament.
- Face-offs (boys’): Each quarter and each goal is followed by a face-off at midfield, where two players crouch over the ball and fight for possession.
Utah High School Lacrosse Season
The lacrosse season in Utah runs from late February through May. Boys’ and girls’ lacrosse run concurrently as spring sports. Preseason practices begin in February, with regular-season games starting in early March.
Region or league play determines seedings for the UHSAA state tournament, held in May. The tournament uses a bracket format with each division crowning a champion. Championship games are typically played at a central venue.
Lacrosse participation has surged in Utah over the past decade, with new programs launching regularly across the state. The sport draws athletes from football, basketball, and soccer backgrounds, and Utah high school lacrosse has become a legitimate pipeline to college programs at all levels.