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- Law 4: The Player's Equipment
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- Law 7: The Duration of the Match
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- Law 10: The Method of Scoring
- Law 11: The Offside
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- Law 17: The Corner Kick
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Standard Competitions
Length: Max: 130 yards (120 Meters) Min: 100 yards (90 meters)
Width: Max: 100 yards (90 meters) Min: 50 yards (45 meters)
International Competitions
Length: Max: 120 yards (110 meters), Min: 110 yards (100 meters)
Width: Max: 100 yards (90 meters), Min: 70 yards (64 meters)
Pitch must be rectangular
Length: Max: 130 yards (120 Meters) Min: 100 yards (90 meters)
Width: Max: 100 yards (90 meters) Min: 50 yards (45 meters)
International Competitions
Length: Max: 120 yards (110 meters), Min: 110 yards (100 meters)
Width: Max: 100 yards (90 meters), Min: 70 yards (64 meters)
Pitch must be rectangular
Every Field of Play is unique, often adds to a home field advantage. Fan support, which is often fanatic, is the most obvious. But other factors, some often subtle, can influence the outcome of play, usually to the home team's advantage.
Two Experiences While Playing Goalie for Lehigh University
Rutgers University's soccer field was incorrectly oriented by 90 degrees, therefore the sun set over the length of the field rather than its width, which put it directly in the goalies eyes by the forth quarter.
My sophomore year, Lehigh took a one goal lead going into the forth quarter and had been controlling the play. However, the sun was directly in my eyes. While driving your car with a blinding sun directly in your eyes, imagine you are a goalie stopping shots. The sun is so blinding that you cannot see the ball. Whenever Rutgers took a shot, my teammates called out where it was going and whether it was high or low. Miraculously, I stopped several shots, mostly by being in the right place and being hit by the ball. Unfortunately, we lost 2-1 having been defeated by the sun.
Revenge came when we played them two years later. They were the defending league champs, but we won the coin toss. The game must have started a little earlier than the 2-1 loss as the sun was not blinding until the second overtime period. Rutgers controlled the play and we could not get a shot on goal until the last minute. I made a running save and threw down the right side from the edge of the eighteen and yelled SHOOT. We scored with 10 seconds left and the revenge was sweet.
We had a different problem with the pitch at Swarthmore College, PA. The right end line corner sloped away and a winger could cross the ball without being seen. It is important that a goalie follow the flight of the ball from the instant it is kicked. It was very weird having a ball appear out of nowhere. They played the ball from that side as much as they could. After they scored their first goal from that corner, our defense forced the winger away from the sideline. Unfortunately, they were the better team winning 6-0 with the other five goals being scored in full view.
Most games that you watch will be fairly standard, including those in the professional leagues. However, be alert to see if the announcer mentions any idiosyncrasies in the pitch that might affect play.
Two Experiences While Playing Goalie for Lehigh University
Rutgers University's soccer field was incorrectly oriented by 90 degrees, therefore the sun set over the length of the field rather than its width, which put it directly in the goalies eyes by the forth quarter.
My sophomore year, Lehigh took a one goal lead going into the forth quarter and had been controlling the play. However, the sun was directly in my eyes. While driving your car with a blinding sun directly in your eyes, imagine you are a goalie stopping shots. The sun is so blinding that you cannot see the ball. Whenever Rutgers took a shot, my teammates called out where it was going and whether it was high or low. Miraculously, I stopped several shots, mostly by being in the right place and being hit by the ball. Unfortunately, we lost 2-1 having been defeated by the sun.
Revenge came when we played them two years later. They were the defending league champs, but we won the coin toss. The game must have started a little earlier than the 2-1 loss as the sun was not blinding until the second overtime period. Rutgers controlled the play and we could not get a shot on goal until the last minute. I made a running save and threw down the right side from the edge of the eighteen and yelled SHOOT. We scored with 10 seconds left and the revenge was sweet.
We had a different problem with the pitch at Swarthmore College, PA. The right end line corner sloped away and a winger could cross the ball without being seen. It is important that a goalie follow the flight of the ball from the instant it is kicked. It was very weird having a ball appear out of nowhere. They played the ball from that side as much as they could. After they scored their first goal from that corner, our defense forced the winger away from the sideline. Unfortunately, they were the better team winning 6-0 with the other five goals being scored in full view.
Most games that you watch will be fairly standard, including those in the professional leagues. However, be alert to see if the announcer mentions any idiosyncrasies in the pitch that might affect play.