After nearly two weeks of competition, FC Dallas' Preseason Survivor competition came down to just seven points in Wednesday's finale. The game was soccer tennis and the teams of Drew Moor and Bobby Rhine and Miguel Guante and Greg Vanney knew that glory, bragging rights, and a substantial cash prize were on the line to the first team that could register seven points.
The rules of soccer tennis are as follows: each team gets three touches once the ball is played over the net. If the ball lands outside of the serve box (only one side is used) or is hit into the net, the opposition gets point, and the first team to get seven points is declared the champions.
The Guante/Vanney duo got off to a fast start against the favored pair of Moor and Rhine, taking a 1-0 lead. Moor and Rhine got back on track with a pair of points before Guante and Vanney pulled back an equalizer to make the score 2-2. However, that would be as close as it would get for the rest of the match as Moor and Rhine scored four of the next five points for a commanding 6-3 lead.
Moor was on serve for match point and, after a short volley between the two sides, Guante/Vanney's attempt was wide, giving the championship and the money to Moor and Rhine with a convincing 7-3 win.
"Redemption," is all Moor had to say after receiving his prize. He was eliminated last year in the knockout stage of the competition, losing to Simo Valakari's team in that year's version of soccer tennis, but this year he and Bobby Rhine (who has now won twice in the last three years) have been crowned FC Dallas Preseason Survivor Champions for 2006.
