For the Lakeville North boys’ soccer team, “focus and fun” has been their motto from the start of the season.

The Panthers stayed true to their motto Tuesday night.

When North gained focus after struggling early on, fun directly followed when they scored three goals and shut out the Farmington Tigers. The Panthers 3-0 victory Tuesday moved Lakeville North to 3-0-1 in the early stages of the season.

Even with the strong start, head coach Peter Tyma won’t let the team get too far ahead of itself.

“It's one game at a time, and we will see if we can keep the fun happening,” Tyma said.

Early in the game, North’s offense limited itself mentally by making one too many passes instead of taking shots.

“Sometimes when you have the talent that we have on the ball, (our) guys want one too many touches on the ball before they shoot to try and get the perfect shot,” Tyma said. “We just reminded them that all you need is a half-a-yard to shoot, so start shooting and you'll be amazed that you might score.”

Once the team heeded its coach’s words, the Panthers never looked back.

19 minutes into the first half, senior EuJune Kim redirected his teammate’s shot to score to the left of the Tiger’s goaltender. Kim showed just about the same amount of shock as the Farmington goaltender after he scored.

“I don't really know what happened,” Kim said of his score. “It was a quick secession of passes between my players. Then, I just got on the end of it. I just got really lucky. It wasn't even a good shot.”

Even though Kim acted surprised, his coach was not.  

“He's been our super sub,” Tyma said of Kim. “He hasn't had a start yet, but when he is on the field he makes use of his minutes, and he gets in the right spot.”

Kim’s goal started the fun for the Panthers. North began to get several scoring chances on the Tiger net and challenged the Farmington goaltender often.

Less than ten minutes into the half, the Tiger’s chances of winning virtually disappeared when Olaf Morkeberg scored off the header from just inside the five-yard line.

Ultimately, Morkeberg’s goal hurt Farmington the most.

“After that second goal, you could see (the momentum shift),” Tyma said. “Farmington's wind had just left, and we were just always on their end. I think (goaltender) Matt (Collins) got bored for a while on our end.”

Shortly after North took a 2-0 lead, Farmington’s frustration showed as the referee gave a stern talking to a Tiger player whose temper flared.

In the end, Paul Mako’s score on a one touch shot in the top left corner of the net sealed the victory for the Panthers. The focus Lakeville North displayed Tuesday during their 3-0 victory didn’t surprise Coach Tyma.

“We knew Farmington was down, and we were coming off three good games,” Tyma said. “We expected a win, we came in with that focus, and we got it.”