Ask The Umpire
Question: "There seems to be confusion in the USA about what to do on a penalty corner when the ball doesn't leave the circle. Should we stop the play right away or stop it when the attack takes a shot?"
Answer: Neither! If the ball doesn't leave the circle on a penalty corner, allow the play to go on and on ... and on ... until the penalty corner comes to an end.
Confusion about this within the USA might be an outcropping of the modifications to the Rules of Hockey made by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in its rules publication.
Under the Rules of Hockey it is NOT a foul for the attack to shoot if they can't score a goal (i.e. if the ball hasn't left the circle). Further, because there are no modifications to rules impacting penalty corner play in the modifications published by the NCAA, the penalty corner should be allowed to continue until completed in NCAA games.
However, in the NFHS modifications it is specifically against the rules to shoot before scoring would be possible.
Therefore, an umpire officiating FIH, USA Field Hockey, NCAA and other competitions using the Rules of Hockey should NOT shut down play on a penalty corner just because the ball didn't get outside the circle.
[ED: In NFHS rule modifications the ball doesn't have to leave the circle. The ball must stop or be stopped or, at a minimum, be "controlled" by the attack before taking a shot is allowed.]
Follow Up Question: "If the attack is allowed to shoot on a penalty corner even though the ball didn't get outside the cirle, what if a defender's body prevents a 'shot' from going into the cage? Is it a penalty stroke?"
Answer: No. The defender didn't stop a goal from being scored. The attack would be awarded another penalty corner.
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