Section 4: Players & Officials
Players
Each team fields 10 players at any time: 1 goalkeeper, 3 defensemen, 3 midfielders, and 3 attackmen. The team must have at least 3 players in the offensive half and 4 in the defensive half (including the goalkeeper) at all times except during specified transitions and after a faceoff. Position assignments are not rule-mandated past the offsides constraint, but the conventional alignment is universally observed.
Substitutions
- Unlimited on-the-fly substitutions through the special substitution area at the midfield line during live play
- Dead-ball substitutions are permitted any time the ball is not in play
- A substituted player must clear the field of play before the substitute enters; failure to do so is a too-many-men-on-the-field violation
Officials
- Three-official crew is standard (referee, umpire, field judge) for NCAA-sanctioned regular-season games; some events use four officials
- Table crew: scorer, timekeeper, shot-clock operator, penalty timekeeper, and chief bench official
- Video review is operative for clear-and-obvious-error reviews of designated reviewable plays per the published 2026 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Video Review Parameters
Coaches and Bench Conduct
Each team has a head coach and assistant coaches in the team box during the game. Coaches may not enter the field of play except when authorized by an official (e.g., medical timeout, brief team huddles in dead-ball situations). Coach conduct rules apply throughout, including the 2025/26 emphasis on sideline behavior.