Wanderers goalkeeper Christian Oxner is just 26 minutes into his first start of the Island Games when all the focus is on him. The 24-year-old stands in the net, arms up, with cheeks puffed as he breathes deeply with his eyes focused on FC Edmonton’s Tomi Ameobi. The forward runs forward on the penalty, kicking the ball to the left side of the net. Oxner explodes to his right, gets his hands on the ball and ensures the score remains 0-0.

“I was thinking about it a couple days before the game and I tried to think about where I think he’s going to go,” Oxner says of his preparation before that match.

“When it happened, it almost felt like it was meant to happen and that I was going to save it. It was just kind of those things, I felt like everything almost came aligned just for that moment.”

The Wanderers would go on to win the game 3-1, picking up their first win of the tournament and putting the team in a position to fight for a top four spot. After picking up an injury late in training camp while still in Halifax, Oxner was unavailable for the first handful of games but was thrust into an important position immediately.

“Sometimes it actually helps you get into the game after you make a big save like that. You’re kind of mentally more in it than you are if you feel as if you have to make a big save to really get into the game or really help your team,” said the goalkeeper.

“Sometimes you put more pressure on yourself to try and make that big save to help the team win and it can lead to you doing things that wouldn’t do otherwise. But sometimes a save like that can really set you straight for the rest of the game.”

So far at the Island Games, Oxner is one-for-one in penalty situations, bringing his Canadian Premier League record up to three stops on four penalties as his reputation as a penalty specialist continues to grow.

“It’s a good part of my game, being able to save the pens. I’m not going to tell my secrets but I have a few tricks I go to,” said Oxner.

The local Halifax product known as ‘The Ox’ is determined to show he’s more than a one-trick-pony.

“There’s other parts to my game too that I’ve really worked on this offseason and I’ve improved and now I want to keep focusing on those and let those shine through as well.”

Now in his second year of professional soccer, Oxner feels more comfortable in the net and says he doesn’t feel like he needs to make saves to prove himself. He’s also worked on his distribution of the ball.

“I’m more focused on just trying to win the games this year,” he said.

He picked up the win in his first game and was also reliable in a 1-1 draw against York9 where the Wanderers played with 10 men for 70 minutes after a red card. Not only did Oxner not allow a goal in that span, but an Omar Kreim goal in stoppage time gave the team a crucial point.

“We just tried to fight to not concede again and we did a great job of that. I think we almost defended better with 10 men than we do with 11,” said the ‘keeper.

Before the season started, Oxner showed his virtual skills when he won the eCPL Home To Play finals in an EA Sports FIFA 20 tournament. Naturally, the team is playing video games in some of the downtime between games while in the bubble. While they’re not playing much FIFA, the battle royale game Fall Guys is a hit with the team. Released in August, it’s become a viral sensation in the gaming world in the late days of summer. In it, 60 players compete in a knockout competition full of silly games until there’s one winner who gets the crown.

“Scotty Firth is the best at that. This guy has 10-20 crowns, I’ve never seen somebody go so hard at that in my life,” said Oxner of his roommate while in Charlottetown.

Oxner is still searching for his first crown in the video game, but maybe that’s an okay thing as he looks determined to take the Wanderers to the next stage of the Island Games.