May 8, 2026

RIVERSIDE — There is a certain amount of pressure that comes with being a defending champion.

The King boys lacrosse team is currently experiencing this after capturing the CIF Southern Section Division 3 title last season.

“I told the guys at the start of the season that last year is last year,” Wolves coach Kyle Gilbert said. “That was a great experience, but we have to put that behind us and focus on the present. Everybody is coming after us, and you’re only as good as your last shot.”

Wednesday evening, King squared off against Agoura, the team it beat in last year’s championship match. The Wolves scored the first four goals and never trailed during the match, but the defense had to make crucial stops at the end to preserve a 7-6 victory.

King (15-7), the No. 3 seed in the Division 3 bracket this season, will head to Dana Hills (19-3) on Saturday for a semifinal match.

This was the second straight playoff match the Wolves won by a single goal, following an 8-7 win over Oak Park last Friday.

“The past two games, we’ve been a 3 1/2-quarter team,” said senior co-captain Logan Gilbert, who had a match-high four goals. “We need to focus on our conditioning and endurance, so we get through all four quarters and finish games as well as we start.”

King dominated possession and controlled the action in the opening quarter, but the Wolves struggled to get quality looks at the cage early on. Gilbert helped the Wolves finally break through with 2:03 left in the period, scoring off of an assist from Aiden Lim.

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