By Ed Wehde
WSL Special Correspondent

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Word spread throughout the lacrosse community over the last few weeks that Santa Ana was the place to be Saturday.

Santa Ana Municipal Stadium hosted the inaugural LMX Pro Tour event – a lacrosse and music festival that LMX president Scott Hochstadt hopes to take to other stops around the country.

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“I heard about it from my coach,” said Armando Castro, a high school lacrosse player from San Diego.

Tom Roman, who has a 14-year-old son who plays club lacrosse, had a similar tale.

“We found out about it through the team,” Roman, a Yorba Linda resident, said.

The event started with a Hollywood casting call in the morning and ended with a concert in the evening. In between, though, the day was all about enjoying the sport of lacrosse.

After talent agents put a number of wannnabe film stars through their paces, a group of professional lacrosse players held a youth clinic, which was followed by a game between 2009 MCLA Division I finalist Chapman University and UC Santa Barbara and another between two professional all-star teams.

Later, The Cab, Qwes, Samuel Adams, Drake and 3OH!3 hit the stage for a night of music.

“We just wanted to have a lot of fun,” said Chapman senior Connor Martin, who scored eight goals in the Panthers' win over the Gauchos. “We made some tank tops that said 'Fun' on the back of them.

“I was having fun.”

While the match-up was merely an exhibition – the final game in fall ball – the venue motivated the teams to play their best.

“Once we got involved in this, we knew it was a marquee event,” Chapman coach Mike Wood said. “One of the things we wanted to do is come out and play hard and treat it like a regular game.

“We always talk about regardless of what happens, if you're playing lacrosse and you're playing well, that's why you signed up. No question, we accomplished the fun part.”

In the pro all-star game, players took the field wanting to showcase their sport for the fans, but once the game started, it was a whole different story.

“Guys were excited,” Team Cascade coach Chris Malone said. “Before the game began in the locker room, we were saying, 'Let's go out there and put on a show.'

“Then, all of a sudden guys were getting hit, guys were getting checked, guys probably weren't performing the way they wanted to. So then they said, 'Let's win this thing. We have to improve the play', which happened through the course of the game.”

The Panthers' tank tops seemed to sum up the general attitude at the stadium Saturday.

“I came to meet some players, watch some games and hear some music,” said Stephen Chromak, 17, who came up from San Diego with Castro for the event. “I have a passionate desire for lacrosse so I wanted to see some games and have some fun.”

Chromak, who plays lacrosse for Otay Ranch High School, was with a group of seven friends who made the journey up Interstate 5.

“I thought it would be a cool experience. I've never seen a college game before,” Castro said between snapping pictures of the players from the clinic.

While Castro and Chromak came with friends, many families chose to spend the day – and evening – in Santa Ana.

Roman brought his wife and two sons.

“We came here at nine o'clock this morning for the casting call, and we've been here since,” Roman said between the clinic and the first game, adding that his family planned to stick around for the entire event.

“It's an awesome event. It's new, but everyone is like family. It's great.”