Goalie Protection

[byualum]

In watching the ND/Hopkins game again last night, one play caught my eye...ND goalie Joey Kemp carries the ball up over midfield line. They (ND) are immediately called for being offsides, which was a correct call at that time.

Hopkins hustles to ball, and on the whistle they make on pass and score on a long shot (which the camera missed) before the goalie is all the way back into the goal.

After some discussion, the goal is taken off the board and Hopkins receives the ball at midfield.

Why is the goalie allowed time to return to the crease? It seems to me that the goalie carrying the ball across midfield is his decision and the team has to live with the consequences of that choice. Play is never stopped to allow a pole to return to the defensive side of the field.

[Jolly Roger]

One consideration has to be to discourage underprotected defensemen from stepping into the creease to stop a shot.

[LaxRef]

In watching the ND/Hopkins game again last night, one play caught my eye...ND goalie Joey Kemp carries the ball up over midfield line. They (ND) are immediately called for being offsides, which was a correct call at that time.

Hopkins hustles to ball, and on the whistle they make on pass and score on a long shot (which the camera missed) before the goalie is all the way back into the goal.

After some discussion, the goal is taken off the board and Hopkins receives the ball at midfield.

Why is the goalie allowed time to return to the crease? It seems to me that the goalie carrying the ball across midfield is his decision and the team has to live with the consequences of that choice. Play is never stopped to allow a pole to return to the defensive side of the field.

If the goalie is out of the crease for any reason, the rules require the officials to allow the goalie 5 seconds to return to the crease. This is true whether he has backing up a shot, leading a fast break, or chasing a butterfly (not uncommon in youth-league games).

If the officials didn't allow the goalie 5 seconds to get back to the goal, disallowing the goal was the right call. But it's obviously way better to not put yourself in that situation in the first place. This season, I have found myself killing the play on more than one occasion when my partner started play before the goalie had his 5 seconds to get back.

As officials, we really want to keep the game moving, and well-coached players do as well. Smart players pick up the ball, get where they need to be, and say "We're ready!" or "Whistle!" trying to get the officials to start play before the defense can get set up. We try to oblige when we can—we're not supposed to wait for the defense in many situations—but it's important to hold play for the defense when the goalie was out of the crease or when there was a time-serving penalty or a horn. In the latter two cases, there's a 20-second timer running, and the defense is entitled to all of that 20 seconds if they wish to use it.

[laxfan25]

Great answer - nice and complete. I think your editing of Stripes has enhanced your writing skills!