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 use a lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by shooting a solid rubber lacrosse ball into the opponent's goal. The highest levels of box lacrosse are the National Lacrosse League (NLL) (professional), Box Lacrosse League (semi-pro), Senior A divisions of the Canadian Lacrosse Association (semi-pro), the Western Lacrosse Association (semi-pro), and Major Series Lacrosse (semi-pro). While there are 59 total members of the Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL), only fifteen have competed in international box lacrosse competition. Only Canada, the Iroquois Nationals and the United States have finished in the top three