Intramural Soccer Rules
NCAA Soccer Rules, Intramural Soccer Rules and the IM Code will govern intramural soccer play.
Department of Recreation staff reserves the right to make amendments to these rules deemed essential to the success of the program.
NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES will be permitted in any recreation or athletic facilities; smoking is also prohibited in all recreation and athletic facilities (indoor or outdoor). Violations will result in forfeiture of the game by the team in violation.
PennCards
Penncards will be required to verify identification prior to each contest. Please refer to page 2 of the IM Code if you are a staff member who is not issued a PennCard.
Eligibility
Intramural eligibility rules, as outlined in the IM Code, are applicable to IM Soccer. Protests of player eligibility must be filed in writing within 24 hours in the IM Office (Rm. 202 Hutchinson Gym) by the team captain. Written protest should include the date, team name, and player in question. The IM staff will review eligibility protests.
Forfeits
Game time is forfeit time. There will be no grace period. Games will start at the scheduled time, or the game will be a forfeit. After one forfeit a team will lose its performance bond; after a second forfeit a team will become ineligible to make the playoffs; after a third forfeit a team will be removed from the league.
Standings
Teams will be awarded points according to the following scale:
2 points awarded for each win
1 point awarded for each tie
0 points awarded for each loss
Playoff qualification will be determined by total point accumulation throughout the season.
Teams
Single Gender Leagues
Will consist of 7 players plus 1 goalkeeper. Teams will be permitted to start a game with a minimum of 5 players plus 1 goalkeeper. Teams must have a goalkeeper at all times.
Co-Rec Leagues
Co-rec teams must have 4 male and 4 female players. Teams may not have more than a one-player gender differential at any given time. There are no positional gender requirements.
Teams may add players to their rosters throughout the regular season, during the playoffs teams will not be permitted to add players.
The Game
Intramural Soccer games will consist of two 15-minute halves. The clock will run continuously except for injury and official's time outs. Each team will be allowed one 30-second time out per game. Half time will be no longer than 3-minutes. The team with the most goals at the end of regulation time will be declared the winner. Games that are tied after regulation time will be declared a tie (see section titled standings for details on tie games).
The Goalkeeper
Must be indicated by wearing a different color jersey. Once the goalkeeper has control of the ball, he/she may take no more than three steps before putting the ball back into play. Goalkeepers will not be permitted to "punt" the ball; the ball must be put back into play by either a throw, or a free indirect kick from the penalty area.
Substitutions
Teams will be allowed to substitute players at any play stoppage (ball out of bounds, goal scored, injury time out, foul, official's time out etc.). Substitutes must get the attention of the official prior to substitutions, and wait for the official to beckon him/her onto the field. The goalkeeper may be substituted for, or changed, only during injury or official's time outs, or after a goal.
Equipment
Standard athletic apparel is required. No metal cleats, players may wear molded rubber cleats only. We highly recommend that all players wear approved shin and mouth guards. Players are not permitted to wear jewelry during IM Soccer contests. At the discretion of the IM official and/or supervisor, players may be asked to remove clothing or accessories that may be dangerous to him/herself or competitors.
Offsides
There will be no offsides penalties.
Slide Tackling
Is prohibited in all IM Soccer leagues.
Playoffs
Teams will not be allowed to add any new players to their rosters for the playoffs. In order to be eligible for the playoffs, a player must have participated in at least one regular season game.
Tie games in playoff
If a playoff game is tied after regulation time, the following procedure will take effect:
- There will be a 5-minute sudden death overtime period.
- If the game is still tied, there will be a five-player shootout.
- Each team will name 5 players to take one penalty kick each
- If after five kicks a winner still hasn't been determined, teams will take alternating penalty kicks until a winner is determined.
Rainouts/rescheduling
As a rule, games will not be rescheduled. If the weather is bad, and games get rained out, they will not be rescheduled. Rained out games will be recorded as a win for both teams. In the case of rain, no decisions will be made until 4pm. After 4pm team captains will be emailed if the games are cancelled, team captains can also call 215-898-6100 for information. Team members should call their captains, not the Department of Recreation, for information.
Sportsmanship
Players are expected to display good sportsmanship towards fellow competitors, officials, and IM staff. Any display of poor sportsmanship will be met with disciplinary actions. The yellow/red card system will be in effect.
Protests
The intramural supervisor, on the field, will accept protests of rule interpretations only. Protests must be filed immediately after the play in question, once the ball is put back into play after the play in question, no protests will be honored. To file a protest, the team captain should ask the game official to get a supervisor, at this point the supervisor will hear the scenario, explain the rule that applies, and render a decision. Decisions made by IM supervisors are final. There is no further appeals process. Supervisors will not listen to protests of officials' judgment calls or competency.
For protests of player eligibility, please see section above titled Eligibility.
If you have any questions about the league, NCAA rules, IM rules, or the IM Code, please contact the Intramural Sports staff at 215-898-6100.