It is important to first determine what league or division you will be watching or playing in when figuring out how long a lacrosse game takes. As a result, each association has different rules. With that said, let’s examine the average length of a lacrosse game.
Lacrosse games are generally 60 minutes long. The game is divided into four 15-minute quarters. Halftime is a 10-minute break, but between those quarters there is a 2-minute break. There are four minutes worth of timeouts. 78 minutes is about how long a lacrosse game should last.
| Skill Level | Quarters | Average Time (Real-time) |
| Professional | 4x 12-minute quarters | 65 minutes without overtime |
| College | 4x 15-minute quarters | 78 minutes without overtime |
| High School | 4x 12-minute quarters | 65 minutes without overtime |
| Youth | 4x 8-minute quarters | 50 minutes without overtime |
Overview of a lacrosse game
Let’s first discuss the structure of a lacrosse game before we get into the details of this article. We will not provide exact times in this section because each league and competition has different rules. In this article, we will focus solely on the timing structure in a lacrosse game.
- There are three quarters in a lacrosse game. Only two halves are usually played in a lacrosse game.
- Between the second and third quarters, there is a break called halftime. As the players rest, the coaches get more time to spend with them. It would also be a good idea for the crowd to get snacks and drinks during this time. Perhaps restroom breaks should also be taken during this time.
- Competitions or leagues have their own rules regarding timeouts. There are two timeouts per half in college lacrosse, but three timeouts per game in the premier lacrosse league.
- After regulation time, if the teams are tied, overtime will be played. Overtime rules vary from competition to competition. In lacrosse, sudden death overtime is the most common.
Now that we have cleared that up, let’s talk about how long lacrosse games last. Throughout each division and league, we will tell you how long games take. So let’s jump right in.
Related: What are Types Of Lacrosse Screens?
Lacrosse Premier Games: How Long Are They?
It is relatively new to have a professional lacrosse league. Lacrosse rules remain the same, however. As far as the size of the field and the distance between goals are concerned, there are slight differences.
As well as the time, it has changed. Let’s take a closer look
There is a regulation time of 48 minutes in the Premier Lacrosse League. There are four 12-minute quarters in this game. During a game, each team is allowed three timeouts, so there is a total of four minutes in the game. Every game lasts approximately 65 minutes, including the breaks between quarters.
The teams will enter overtime if they are tied at the end of regulation time. If a team scores within 12 minutes of overtime, they win. The game will last about 78 minutes if it goes into overtime. The break there was extended by one minute.
What is the average game length for college lacrosse
Before moving to the big leagues, college lacrosse is the place where young players make their names. In order to explain what the rules are for professional lacrosse, we use the rules of college lacrosse as a starting point.
There is a great deal of similarity between them. Now that we’ve established that, let’s examine how long lacrosse games last.
The college game of lacrosse consists of four 15-minute quarters. Two minutes are taken between each quarter. The players will take a 10-minute break between the second and third quarters for half-time.
It takes 74 minutes to play a college lacrosse game with 3 timeouts.
You will enter overtime if the game ends without a winner. Sudden death is what this is. A team will score after 4 minutes of extra time when extra time is called.
There is no way to predict how long the game would take if the first team scores.
Lacrosse game length for high schools
The majority of lacrosse players who go to college are scouted during their high school years. It is here that professionals begin their careers. The intensity of high school lacrosse differs from that of college lacrosse. Therefore, the times have changed as well. However, the time structure remains the same. Let’s check it out.
Four quarters of 12 minutes are played in high school lacrosse games. Each quarter is separated by approximately two minutes, except for halftime. There is a 10-minute break during which the players take a rest. An entire regulation game will take about 65 minutes if you include the stop-start whistle.
During regulation time, if no winner is determined, there will be overtime. There are four four-minute periods in this game. It is impossible to predict how long extra time will take if a game goes to overtime. Because of this, one team will score a goal until the other team concedes.
The length of a youth lacrosse game
The games played by youth lacrosse teams are very similar to those played by high schools. Our focus in this section will be on how long the games take, which is the only difference in the rules. Let’s get started.
There are 32 minutes of regulation time in a youth lacrosse game. There are four quarters, each lasting eight minutes. Each quarter has a two-minute break, and halftime has a 10-minute break. In total, 46 minutes are allowed for regulation. There is no doubt that this league is the shortest of all those mentioned in this post.
Again, it is hard to give an exact time for overtime just as it is with high school lacrosse. When a winner is determined, the game will end after 4 minutes of overtime. The death of an employee during overtime is usually sudden.
A Lacrosse Game: What To Expect
You want the ball to go into the goal in a game of lacrosse. If you’re on a team, you should at least help them get as many goals as possible.
While you’re doing that, try to keep the other team from scoring. You’ll need to keep your intensity at a high level during this. This will stop the opposing team from running right past you or it’ll stop you from getting past them while you’re attacking.
It’s intense playing lacrosse. Most likely, you’ll keep running until the game ends, or at least until every quarter is over.
Four quarters are what you can expect. Your league’s or your association’s rules determine how long each quarter is.
Final Thoughts
We have reached the end of this article. When it comes to estimating the duration of a lacrosse game, it is easy to make a generalized statement. As much as possible, we avoided doing that. Providing you with game times for each major division was our goal. Your questions should have been answered in this article.
