Screen & Score: A High-Impact Play to Exploit Defensive Gaps in Women's Lacrosse

For this particular play, we call it a screen play because it looks like we're setting a screen with two attackers inside. These two attackers position themselves in front of the goalie, creating an obstruction.

You still have two attackers behind the goal, and the objective is to execute a righty ISO. We'll call this play Screen One, as it will be our first screen play. The basic concept follows the same motion principles, but the two inside attackers do not rotate out until the ball reaches at least the 12-meter arc.

How the Play Develops:

1. The ball carrier waits for the clearing midfielder to vacate the space.

2. Once the midfielder moves in, it forces the defense to make a decision:

   • If the defender slides, they leave an attacker open on the perimeter.

   • If they don’t slide, the ball carrier can attack the open lane.

3. By keeping the two attackers low inside, we create visual confusion for the goalie, making communication more difficult.

4. Defenders who should be sliding might hesitate or misread the play.

Execution Timing:

• As soon as the ball is established inside the 12-meter arc—or at the latest, when it reaches the 8-meter arc—the inside attackers break out.

• This movement either opens a direct lane to the goal or forces a shooting space violation if a defender hesitates and remains too deep.

• Often, the first time running this play, we draw shooting space calls because defenders instinctively crash into the arc, violating the stick-length rule.

Primary Objective:

The goal of this play is to exploit the empty space inside the 8-meter arc, particularly within the central lanes between the first inside hash marks. We want high-percentage shots from the middle, not from the outside lanes.

Everything in this setup is designed to create high-quality scoring opportunities by forcing defenders into difficult choices and capitalizing on shooting space violations when they hesitate.

This screen play is a great offensive strategy in women's lacrosse because it creates confusion, forces defensive mistakes, and generates high-percentage scoring opportunities. Here’s why it’s effective:

1. Creates Visual Confusion for the Goalie

• The two attackers positioned in front of the goalie obstruct her vision, making it harder to track the ball.

• If the goalie struggles to see the play develop, she may be slower to react, giving the shooter an advantage.

2. Forces Defenders into Tough Decisions

• Defenders are trained to slide and collapse into the 8-meter arc to stop drives.

• This play forces them to choose between two bad options:

  • Commit to the ball carrier → This often results in a shooting space violation, leading to a free-position shot (8-meter).

  • Stay with their attacker → Leaves the ball carrier with an open lane to shoot.

3. Takes Advantage of the Shooting Space Rule

• Many defenders instinctively crash into the arc when they see a drive.

• If they do this without marking an attacker within a stick’s length, it’s an automatic shooting space violation.

• The offense can intentionally trigger this call, leading to free-position shots from the center hash—one of the highest-percentage scoring opportunities in the game.

4. Capitalizes on Offensive Motion

• The delayed movement of the inside attackers prevents defenders from easily reading the play.

• Their late rotations create a dynamic shift that makes defensive slides less predictable, increasing the likelihood of:

  • An open cutter inside.

  • A miscommunication between defenders.

  • A late slide, leaving a shooter open.

5. Keeps Shots in the High-Percentage Area

• The play is designed to generate shots from the center lanes of the 8-meter arc.

• These are the most effective scoring locations because:

  • Shots from directly in front have a higher accuracy than angled shots.

  • The goalie has less time to react to a point-blank shot.

• By avoiding wide-angle shots, the offense maximizes scoring efficiency.

6. Works Against Both Man and Zone Defenses

• Against man-to-man defense → It forces defenders to make hard slides, often leaving an attacker open.

• Against zone defense → The low attackers drag defenders deep, creating open lanes in front.

Bottom Line:

This strategy is effective because it forces the defense to make mistakes, limits the goalie’s ability to track the ball, and creates high-percentage scoring chances inside the 8-meter arc. It’s a great way to exploit defensive tendencies and increase goal-scoring efficiency in women's lacrosse.