Field lacrosse offensive purpose while controlling the ball, the possessing team must keep the ball within the offensive restraining box to avoid a loss-of-possession penalty. Field markings dictate player positioning during a face-off. A face-off is how play is started at the beginning of each quarter and after each goal. During a face-off, there are six players (without considering goalkeepers) in each of the areas defined by the restraining lines. Three midfielders from each team occupy the midfield area, while three attackmen and three of the opposing team's defensemen occupy each offensive area. These players must stay in these areas until possession
Box lacrosse lacrosse stick, each player must also wear a certain amount of protective equipment, including a lacrosse helmet with facemask, lacrosse gloves, arm and shoulder pads, and back/kidney pads. Rib pads are optional in some leagues. In some box leagues, especially the NLL, the five "runners" wear helmets specifically designed for box lacrosse. These helmets consist of a hockey helmet with a box lacrosse face mask attached instead of a hockey cage. During a typical game the number of officials can range from one to three, depending on the league and level of play. In most games there are at least