It didn’t take long for Wanderers striker Akeem Garcia to make his presence felt in the first game of the group stage against Forge FC.

Before the Hamilton-based team could even get the ball over half after the opening kick-off, Garcia engaged in the high press the Wanderers have employed all tournament. He intercepted the ball and brought it inside the box and took a shot. It slowly rolled towards the net and went wide. A big interception, but not his best shot.

But it’s what happened next that shows growth in the returning forward’s game. Just over a minute later, the Wanderers forced another turnover with attacking midfielder João Morelli stealing the ball and getting it to Garcia. This time the Trinidad and Tobago international didn’t miss, taking a confident shot through two defenders and past the ‘keeper.

“I know if I miss one, there are other opportunities coming, I just have to make up for it,” said Akeem Garcia.

“For me it’s something I’ve been working on and the coach spoke to me about last year. When I would miss a chance my head would go down a bit because I’m thinking about the chance that I missed.”

The miss was instantly flushed from the memory bank and replaced by a memorable goal, one that Garcia calls his favourite of the tournament.

“I had to think fast in that position. Two defenders are closing me down. Just knowing where I was at that time on the field, for me it was my favourite. I like scoring against Forge,” said the striker.

When it comes to selecting a favourite goal of the Island Games, Garcia is the player in the CPL who has the most options. After all, he’s the golden boot leader with six goals and will have at least one more game to try to add to that total. But don’t think for a second that the player who’s earned the Akeem “The Dream” Garcia nickname is worried about individual records.

“Honestly, my mindset is to try to win the tournament,” said Garcia.

Instead of talking about getting the scoring lead, the Trinidadian player talked about how hard the team has trained and worked to get to this point.

“It would be nice to get it but my main focus is on the team and not studying the (goal-scoring race) too much. But if I get it, I’m pretty grateful,” said the humble striker.

His conversation about the golden boot race lines up with what coach Stephen Hart said about his player. After scoring his sixth goal of the tournament off a penalty in a 2-1 win over Cavalry, the coach was asked if Garcia is the MVP of the Island Games

“I can’t say, he’s having a good tournament. He just has to keep it up, keep on pushing, keep on learning, keep on doing what he’s been doing,” said Hart. “Knowing Akeem, he would much rather the team bathe in the glory than himself.”

It’s clear Garcia continues to learn under Stephen Hart who in turn has put the striker in situations where he can thrive. First of all, after playing Garcia on the wing a number of times last year, Hart has settled in on starting Garcia at his most natural and comfortable position.

Secondly, the manager brought in wingers and midfielders that add creativity to the attack but also allow the team to be deadly on the transition.

“Coach really did well with the wingers he brought this year. I have more confidence to make those runs and you can see most of the goals came from a run where I either get it from the winger or in transition and they were able to push the ball forward,” said Garcia.

It’s not a total surprise Garcia is leading the Wanderers in scoring since he did the same thing last season. But he has stepped up his goal scoring pace. Last year he had seven goals in 24 CPL games. At the Island Games, he’s one shy of that record after just nine matches. His performance last year also earned him a call-up to the Trinidad and Tobago national team.

When he does score, don’t expect theatrics as he prefers to keep calm and not do anything over the top.

“When we score, the game is not done so you try not to overdo it, just stay focused. For me, I haven’t been able to get a double in a match yet and that’s my main focus, to just keep scoring, assisting, helping my team in any way possible,” said the hungry striker.

Wanderers fans may want to pinch themselves, but what you’re seeing from Akeem “The Dream” Garcia is real. The team has at least one more game at the Island Games, finishing the group stage with a match against Pacific FC on Tuesday at 9 p.m. A result in this one would make a dream trip to the North Star Shield final a reality.