While lacrosse made its triumphant return last season, it came with restrictions, most notably in terms of scheduling. Now that’s been lifted and the region’s elite are back to butting heads, which makes it a bit easier to rank those squads.

St. Anthony’s starts out on top with plenty of others built to challenge the perennial power.

Continue on to see how the Top 10 unfolds, and check back every Tuesday beginning March 29 for National Top 25 updates.

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1. ST. ANTHONY’S (N.Y.)

Keith Wieczorek has been blessed with the top-ranked player in the country on each of his last two title-winning teams. Both Brennan O’Neill and Andrew McAdorey are now at Duke, along with other former Friars standouts Aidan Danenza and Jake Naso. While a Best in Class might not be on the roster, the Friars have depth at every position with their attack paced by senior Michael Leo (Syracuse) and junior Owen Duffy (North Carolina), with the younger Naso, Jordan, a Holy Cross-bound senior, returning as a faceoff specialist.

2. MOUNT SINAI (N.Y.)

This year’s Best in Class is about 25 miles east of St. Anthony’s in Mt. Sinai. Syracuse-bound Joey Spallina is the alpha male on the defending Long Island champions. The Mustangs are far from a one-man show, though, with Johns Hopkins commit Michael Trepeta and Dylan Sageder, who will join Spallina at Syracuse, looking to lock things down defensively.

3. BRUNSWICK SCHOOL (CONN.)

Brunswick School has Division I players at every position. That includes Duke commit Charlie Johnson, who anchors the defense along with Princeton-bound Hunter Spiess in front of goaltender Luke Schlank (Georgetown), as well as Notre Dame-bound LSM Will Donovan. The midfield features juniors Tomas Delgado (Duke) and Leo Hoffman (Penn) with Henry Caponiti (Georgetown) leading a deep and dangerous attack line.

4. CHAMINADE (N.Y.)

The venerable Jack Moran is back to lead the Flyers, who fell just short of a Long Island CHSAA championship a year ago. There’s a blend of youth and experience and a lot of team speed on a team led by Duke-bound attack Charles Balsamo, Navy commits Matt Byrnes, who can play in the midfield or on attack, and midfielder Jack Flaherty as well as midfielder Christian Alacqua (Notre Dame). Juniors Gavin Creo (Richmond) and Ryan Landolphi (Navy) should also impact the attack.

5. DARIEN (CONN.)

Darien has all the ingredients to make another FCIAC and state-title run — a potent attack led by senior Matthew Minicus (Loyola) and sophomore Brady Pokorny, a lethal first midfield of Finn Pokorny (Harvard), Christian Alliegro (Navy) and Joe Cesare (Georgetown), a top faceoff specialist in Tighe Cummiskey (Lafayette) and lockdown defenders David Evanchick (Villanova) and Jeremiah Stafford (Air Force).

6. MANHASSET (N.Y.)

Manhasset was agonizingly close to repeating as the Long Island champion but fell to Joey Spallina and Mount Sinai in an epic title tilt. The feeling is one of unfinished business for Keith Cromwell's squad, led by Virginia-bound midfielder Joey Terenzi, ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2022 by Inside Lacrosse. Matt Perfetto (Cornell) and Hunter Panzik (Air Force) played big roles as juniors last year, Duke-bound junior Cal Girard is back at FOGO, while senior Patrick Leder (Amherst) leads the line defensively.

7. GARDEN CITY (N.Y.)

The Trojans are loaded with top-end talent throughout the field and are primed to defend their Long Island Class B title and chase an eighth state championship. Cornell-bound Jack Cascadden is a beast at the faceoff X, Syracuse commit Stevie Finnell is ready to take a leading role in midfield and Brendan Staub (Cornell) and Cole Webber (Virginia) anchor an athletic and physical defense.

8. NORTHPORT (N.Y.)

A year ago, the Tigers defeated Syosset to capture a first Long Island Class A title since 2001 and 2002. Can Northport make it back-to-back championships? Bucknell-bound senior Michael Meyer leads the attack, Tyler Kuprianchik (Penn State) is an elite FOGO, West Point commit Drew Miller is one of the region’s best LSMs and Dan Eagers (Delaware) anchors the stout defensive unit.

9. RIDGEFIELD (CONN.)

Ridgefield had a banner 2021 — literally — winning the CIAC Class L championship last spring. Will the Tigers roar again this year? There are difference-makers throughout the field, including senior attack Ryan Colsey (Virginia) and younger brother Kyle Colsey, Quinnipiac-bound midfielder Ethan McGerald, defender Kai Prohaszka (North Carolina) and goalie Matthew Shepard (Bucknell).

10. WEBSTER THOMAS (N.Y.)

The Titans return several key players from a team that won the Section V Class B title a year ago, including senior attackmen David Petz (Hamilton) and Evan Pashalidis (Saint John Fisher), the Cortland-bound midfield senior duo of Steve Zielke and Ethan Shappee, and senior defenders Thomas Wolford (Seton Hill) and Will Pieters (Marywood).