11/22/08 Stockton - The first leg of the United States Open Arena Soccer Championships is in the books with Santa Clara advancing to the round of 16.

The Stockton Cougars hosted a pregame tournament that featured Santa Clara, Sacramento, Chico, and the Turlock Express, the affiliate team of the Cougars.

The four PASL-Premier teams competed in a round robin with Santa Clara and Turlock advancing to the final. Santa Clara, the 2008 PASL-Premier Summer Champions, finished the round robin with a 2-0-1 record, while Turlock was 1-0-2. The two teams met and tied in the first game, 4-4.

Santa Clara won the final 7-2, led by two goals from Vicente Figueroa. Figueroa, the former Cougars forward, recently was a member of the winning Mexico squad in the Torneo Internacional in Monterrey.

Suad Artinovic from Santa Clara led all scorers with six goals, followed by Jorge Martinez with five and Figueroa with four.

By advancing, Santa Clara now will face the Stockton Cougars in the round of 16 on December 20th at Stockton Arena. 

Game 1- Turlock 4 and Santa Clara 4
Game 2- Chico 5 and Sacramento 3
Game 3- Santa Clara 5 and Chico 2
Game 4- Turlock 2 and Sacramento 2
Game 5- Santa Clara 5 and Sacramento 1
Game 6- Turlock 6 and Chico 1

Final: Santa Clara 7 and Turlock 2