Lacrosse is a team sport that is played with either ten players (men field) six players (men box,indoor) or twelve players (women), each of whom uses a netted stick (the crosse) in order to pass and catch a very hard rubber ball with the aim of scoring goals (each worth one point traditionally, but Major League Lacrosse uses a two point goal for goals scored from a distance of 15 yards or greater from the goal) by propelling the ball into the opponent's goal. The team scoring the most points after two halves, of varying length from competition to competition, and overtime if necessary, wins. Most popular in North America, lacrosse is Canada's official national summer sport and the fastest growing sport in the United States. In its modern form, men's lacrosse is played on a field of grass, artificial turf, or field turf. Each team is composed of 10 players on the field at a time: three attackmen, three midfielders, three defenders and one goaltender. In men's lacrosse, players wear protective equipment on their heads, shoulders, arms, and hands, as body-checking is an integral part of the game, and stick checks to the arms and hands are considered legal. Women's lacrosse is played in a similar manner except with two additional midfielders per team. Players of women's lacrosse need only wear protective eyewear (except for the goaltender, who wears additional padding, usually consisting of a helmet, shin guards, and chest pad, and most goalies do not wear arm pads), as contact is not permitted apart from minor stick-checks. Full Article on Wikipedia