The 2025 Maybelline Women’s Lacrosse League All-Star Game is putting a spin on tradition this Independence Day. The game will be played in the 10-vs.-10 format, unlike the 2025 Maybelline WLL Championship Series, which was played in Sixes.
While the names of each format adequately reveal how many players per team are on the field at once, there are stark differences between the dynamics, pace of play and rulebook. Let’s examine those below.
There are three distinct types of women’s lacrosse play: 10 vs. 10, 12 vs. 12 and Sixes.
The standard format of World Lacrosse, and now the WLL, is 10 vs. 10, with three midfielders, attackers and defenders alongside one goalie. NCAA women’s lacrosse plays 12 vs. 12 with four attackers and defenders, three midfielders and one goalie. The 12-vs.-12 format is typically viewed as the most traditional style of play across the women’s game.
Sixes features six positionless players in a pick-up-like game of lacrosse, and will be the official format of the sport come the 2028 Olympics.
In 10 vs. 10, the field is 100 yards long and 60 yards wide. In Sixes, that field size shrinks dramatically to 76 yards by 39.
There is a 52-second shot clock in field lacrosse, whereas there is a 30-second shot clock in Sixes.
Sixes is a quicker version of lacrosse as opposed to the traditional field game. In Sixes, every player is an attacker or a defender depending on which team has the ball, eliminating the specialties seen in field lacrosse.
In 10s, there is a draw after every goal, while Sixes only requires one draw per quarter with a goalie clear after every goal, resulting in a more up-and-down style of play.
Team North All-Star and Maryland Charm defender Abby Bosco was a commanding presence on the draw circle during her time at Penn from 2018-2021 (The 2021 season consisted of one game before it was canceled due to COVID-19) and Maryland (2022, 2023), nabbing 268 career balls off the draw. She said ahead of the 2025 Championship Series that the draw circle is “all about the scrappy play, getting the loose balls and taking that mentality and implementing it into the live play, so going for the loose balls in the midfield and making those scrappy plays [is important in Sixes].”
“But it’s definitely a huge pivot from the field game. A lot of time in field, if you have a really good draw taker and circle players and you’re winning most of the possessions, it could make a game super lopsided, but Sixes takes that away and it makes it more of an even playing ground. It’s team vs. team. That’s it.”
In 10s, a team can play a defensive zone whenever it pleases; in Sixes, zone is only allowed if a team is man-down during a penalty kill.
“It’s super, super creative,” Team North All-Star and Maryland Charm defender Lizzie Colson said of Sixes ahead of the 2025 Championship Series. “I think lacrosse has always been creative but Sixes gives you a little bit more free reign. The Champ Series last year, I’m a defender normally, and I’m scoring goals or having assists where in field, maybe that’s not as likely to happen.”
Team Izzy All-Star and California Palms defender Kayla Wood said ahead of the 2025 Championship Series that, as a leader on defense in field, her focus in Sixes was on dominating “the transition and getting the ball to the hands of the goal scorers.”
And there’s joy for Team Izzy All-Star Marie McCool in any version of lacrosse she’s playing but prefers the pace allowed by field lacrosse, she said in May.
“Obviously I love field, it’s the game I grew up playing and played my entire life,” she said. “I’ve really learned to love Sixes as well. They are very different, one part of field that you don’t get in Sixes that I thoroughly enjoy is the excitement after a goal scored and celebrating with your teammates. In college you have the stick drop which I think is a great element of women’s lacrosse and exciting to fans. Celebration with your teammates after scoring a goal is something I love about field that you don’t necessarily get in Sixes. But Sixes, I love the fast-paced element to it and the creativity.”
The Maybelline WLL All-Star Game kicks off July 4 at 8 p.m. ET at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. It will air on ESPN2. The full rosters for Team North and Team Izzy — coached by Boston Guard coach Laurie DeLuca and National Lacrosse Hall of Famer Jen Adams, respectively — can be found here.
Lauren Merola started writing for the PLL in 2021, covering the league before transitioning to the New York Atlas beat. She now covers the WLL at large, having gotten her start on the women’s lacrosse beat while a student at USC.
Follow on X @laurmerola
