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 yet to lose an international game in box lacrosse. Other international tournaments have been played. Annually, the European Lacrosse Federation holds the Aleš Hřebeský Memorial tournament in Prague. This is the largest European box lacrosse tournament. In 2002 and 2004, the Heritage Cup was played between the United States and Canada featuring mostly players that were members of NLL teams. Historically, box lacrosse has been exclusively a men's sport. Women who played the sport of lacrosse typically played the women's field lacrosse version. Recently, Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia and British Columbia have established girls' and women's box lacrosse leagues. During