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Women's lacrosse dates back to at least 1890, which it was adopted as a variation of field hockey. It differs from the better-known men's version largely because most contact is forbidden, whereas in men's lacrosse, full-body contact is an essential part of the game. As a result, women players wear much less protective gear - for example, only the goalkeeper wears a helmet. Women's lacrosse also uses a more shallow pocket on the sticks, making it harder to control the ball under pressure. Additionally, starting in 2003, women playing are required to wear protective eye gear in the form of goggles to minimize eye and face injury. Moreover, women are required to wear mouthguards just like the men. Although women are not allowed to hit each other like the men players, they can still check each others' sticks, knocking the ball out.

As a result of these differences, its fans say action is more spread out and faster than in the men's version.

The positions from defense to attack for women's lacrosse go from the goal keeper to point, cover point, third man, two defense wings, two attack wings, a center where the ball begins on a draw, then on offensive end a third home, second home, and first home. In 2000, the restraining line was taken from the men's game and added to women's lacrosse. The objective is to score, because the team with the most goals wins.

The penalties for women's lacrosse are given in cards. After a yellow card, the girl who was penalized must leave the field for two minutes in high school and five minutes in college.

See International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations

Common bumper stickers say "Lacrosse... Indians invented it: Woman perfected it."