Outdoor Soccer Rules

Equipment:

Balls will be provided. Teams should dress with like-colored shirts. Pennies will be provided if teams do not match. Goal keepers must wear shirts/jerseys contrasting their team colors. Shin guards are recommended.

Boundaries:

  1. An out of bounds ball or dead ball is put in play with a sideline kick, or a goalie kick (not a goalie throw in). Any ball going outside the thick red line is considered out of bounds resulting in a free kick to the other team. The walls directly on the red line are still in bounds. If the ball hits the tin siding or the window panels, it is out of bounds and a free kick is awarded to the other team.
  2. A ball trapped behind the goal will be a goal kick or a corner kick depending on the last person to touch it.
  3. Corner kicks are taken one yard from the end wall on the sideline. This happens following an out of bounds ball off of a defensive player, over the end line. Opponents must be 5ft. from the person kicking the ball in on both corner kicks and free kicks.

Players:

  1. Team rosters can have a max of 10 players. Up to 4 players and a goal keeper per team shall be on the field at any time. Teams must be ready for competition no later than 10 minutes after the scheduled start time, and a minimum of 3 players is required to start the game.
  2. Each team must have at least one (1) girl on the floor for the duration of the game. (If she is the goalie, she does not count as the girl on the floor). If a team does not have a girl present at the start of the game, they must play down a player until she arrives.
  3. Each team is allowed to have two (2) Varsity soccer players on their roster (from the guy or girls squad). Only one (1) Varsity soccer player is allowed on the floor at a time(either a guy or a girl).
  4. A speaking captain must be designated for each team. He or she alone may appeal to the officials, and only on questions of interpretations of the rules.
  5. Substitutions may occur during goal kicks, half times, and goals of either team. Teams can sub in on their own at sideline kicks or corner kicks. Notify the referee when making a substitution.
  6. Teams must substitute when:
    1. a player has received a yellow card
    2. a player is bleeding or has an open wound, or an excessive amount of blood on the uniform.

Timing:

The game will be played in two equal 20 minute halves, with a 5 minute half time.

Tie Game:

There will be no tie-breakers in regular season games. During the tournament, there will be two five-minute sudden death overtimes. In the event of a tie after sudden death, a 3-person penalty kick shoot-out will occur. If still tied, comes to the 4th person, it becomes a sudden death penalty kick shoot out.

Scoring:

  1. Goals scored by guys are worth 1 point.
  2. Goals scored by girls are worth 2 points.
  3. Goals may not be scored by:
    1. Indirect free kicks
    2. Sideline kicks
  4. All other legal means are counted.
  5. Mercy rule stands at 10 goals at the half or any time after that.

Offsides:

Offsides will not be used in officiating 6-on-6 soccer.

Fouls and Misconduct:

  1. Direct Free Kicks (goals can be scored directly from the kick)
    1. kicking
    2. tripping
    3. holding
    4. pushing
    5. striking or spitting
    6. charging at an opponent (running into another player)
    7. slide tackling with contact
    8. . handballs
  2. Indirect Free Kicks (another player must make contact with the ball before reaching the goal)
    1. dangerous play, including playing the ball while player is on the ground, any kind of slide tackle, playing the ball with feet above the waist while another player is within playing distance
    2. obstruction
    3. charging the goal keeper
    4. encroachment
  3. Yellow and Red Cards will be given at the referee's discretion. Red cards carry a current game and next game suspension. Teams receiving a red card must play a man down for the remainder of the game. Soft reds (2nd yellow card) carry only a current game suspension (not next game suspension or playing a man down).
  4. Penalty kicks will be awarded for direct fouls within the penalty area.
  5. Players may not intentionally touch the goalie if the goalie has possession. A 2-minute penalty will be awarded if this occurs.
  6. Flagrant personal fouls, i.e. tripping, pushing, foul language, etc. will result in a two-minute penalty. Players will be ejected for flagrant fouls such as fighting and unsportsmanlike conduct (including cursing at an opponent). When ejected, the player must leave the building immediately or the team will forfeit. If a player is ejected from the game, they must then play a player down for the rest of the game.
  7. On a second penalty the player will have fouled out of the game. He may be substituted for.
  8. All indoor soccer fouls results in indirect kicks except for penalty kicks.
  9. Penalty kicks are taken for handballs or flagrant fouls in the goal area. Any other foul is a free kick (defenders should allow 5 feet. Go on the touch, not the whistle).

Goal Keepers:

  1. Goal area is the three point line.
  2. Goal keepers have 4 seconds to release the ball into play after they retain possession.
  3. Goal keepers may not handle the ball with their hands if the ball is directly played back from their own players unless directed by the head. This includes kick-ins.
  4. A goalie must have one foot in the goalie area if he/she plans to pick up the ball at the side of the goal.
  5. The goalkeeper cannot throw the ball across mid-court line, unless it touches the ground before it crosses. Goal kicks cannot cross mid-court on the fly. These restarts must touch a player before crossing mid-court. Punting is not allowed.
  6. Goals may be scored from any place on the court. However, shots taken from more than half court that hit the end wall result in an indirect kick from the mid-court line.
  7. No slide tackles. Goalies cannot slide out of the goalie area. All slide tackles by the goalie will be a judgment call of the officials that results in an indirect free kick.