RIVERSIDE — The King boys water polo team set a goal at the start of the season: win the Big VIII League title When that failed to materialize, the Wolves set their sights on bringing home the program’s second CIF Southern Section championship. And they will get that opportunity. Logan Brown and Gavin Starling combined for seven goals — three coming in the final two minutes — as the Wolves overcame a slow start Tuesday evening and pulled put a 9-7 victory over Pasadena Poly in a Division 3 semifinal match played at Riverside Poly. King (20-10) will square off against Los Osos (20-10) in an all-Inland championship match Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College at a time to be determined. This is the first trip to the section finals for King’s program since capturing the Division 3 championship in 2012. “At the start of the year, I thought our best hope for a title was going to be league,” said Wolves coach Taryn Morales, who is in her second season leading the varsity program. “Things didn’t work out for us there, but these boys shifted their focus to something new.” King struggled offensively during the first 9 minutes of the match, but not for lack of opportunity. The Wolves had quality looks at the cage, but their shots were right to Pasadena Poly goalie August Tonthat. Theodore Kratter scored twice to give Pasadena Poly a 2-0 lead after one period. The momentum quickly shifted in the second quarter. King’s defense forced four straight turnovers, and David Chavez scored a pair of power-play goals to level the score. Brown then scored with 3 minutes left to half to give King its first lead of the match. It was the Wolves’ third goal in a span of 103 seconds. Starling scored his first goal of the match on a counterattack with 36 seconds on the clock to give King a 4-2 advantage at halftime. “We were able to change up the pace… play faster… in the second quarter,” Morales said. “I could them start to settle in after those first couple of goals.” Pasadena Poly (17-13) had its own response at the start of third period. The Panthers won the sprint and got a penalty shot 18 seconds into the new half. Kratter converted, and Kalyxtomar Lara added a power-play goal to knot things up with 4:11 remaining in the third quarter. The teams continued to trade goals near the end of the third period. Brown fired in a 5-meter penalty, and Starling added another goal for the Wolves. Pasadena Poly countered each time with power-play goals by Kratter and Lara to tie the score at 6 going to the fourth quarter. Neither side could break the deadlock during the first 5 minutes of the final period. But King regained the lead with 2 minutes left, when Starling earned a penalty shot that Brown converted. Starling scored his final goal about a minute later to put the Wolves ahead 8-6. “That was a great feeling,” Starling said of those back-to-back possessions near the end of the match that gave the Wolves the lead. But there were some nervous moments for the Wolves during that final minute. Pasadena Poly forced a quick turnover, but King goalkeeper Troy Newlin stopped Kratter at point-blank range to deny a goal. King turned it over again, and this time Kratter scored to cut the deficit in half with 20 seconds left. Pasadena Poly pulled Tonthat from the cage for an additional field player. The Panthers were unable to force another turnover, however, and Brown put an exclamation point on King’s victory with a backhanded goal into an empty net with only 1 second still showing on the clock. Related Articles High School Sports | IE Varsity’s CIF State and CIF Southern Section playoff scoreboard, Nov. 12 High School Sports | Yucaipa boys water polo team falls in triple overtime to Westlake in Division 1 semifinal match High School Sports | San Bernardino boys water polo beats Arroyo Valley to reach Division 6 championship match High School Sports | Inland girls athlete of the week: Melanie Hewlett, Murrieta Valley High School Sports | Inland boys athlete of the week: Nolan Koopman, Rancho Cucamonga King received the No. 9 seed for this year’s Division 3 playoffs. The Wolves outlasted Redlands East Valley 12-11 in the opening round and beat No. 8 seed Carpinteria 13-7 in the second round. A big confidence boost came after a 9-7 victory over top-seeded Trabuco Hills in the quarterfinal round. “This is kind of unexpected. We never thought we would go this far,” Starling said. “And now were here with a chance to win a title.” Brown scored four goals, while Starling added three more for the Wolves, who scored on both of their power-play chances Tuesday night. Newlin finished with seven saves, and King’s defense forced four shot-clock violations during the match. The Wolves also field blocked multiple shots by the Panthers. Kratter tallied a match-high five goals for Pasadena Poly, which was 3 for 6 on its power play opportunities. Tonthat registered 10 blocks.