The Columbia Basin Hawks are officially NWAC Champions! After moving past Everett in the semi-finals, the CBC downed Walla Walla for the third time this year to redeem their shocking 2021 playoff loss and win the 2022 championship.

With convincing wins over Whatcom and Everett on their way to the title game, the Hawks got a stoke of luck when Walla Walla upset Peninsula and then Highline despite getting outshot by double-digits in both games. Even with the favorable matchup, CBC was not going to tread lightly against the Warriors. Right out of the gate, Martin Ramirez's bunch took control of possession and spent ample time in the attacking third. There were 3 near misses early in the first 25 minutes including a rocket from Diego Lopez that was just barely knocked away. Then it was Gabriel Delgado who had his shot inside the box just deflected over the crossbar.

The key moment in the match came when Johnny Ramirez got loose on a counter attack and began to dribble past a Warrior defender. Just as he approached the 18, the defender sent him to the turf resulting in a whistle. CBC pleaded their case that Ramirez was inside the 18 and should be awarded a PK. After a yellow was shown to Walla, the official ran to the linesman to confirm whether Ramirez was in the box. After a lengthy discussion, CBC was awarded the PK. the left-footed Delgado stepped up to take it and sent a shot to the left corner that easily made it past the keeper who dove the wrong direction.

Outside of half, the Hawks continued to control the tempo with shot after shot leaving Walla Walla with minimal possessions to shoot on. A scary moment in the 78th minute when Delgado attempted a hard tackle that resulted in a whistle. The CBC crowd held their breath as it would be his second yellow. However, no cards were shown and the Hawks continued with 11. The lone try the Warriors sailed over the crossbar with Jose Corona escorting it over the entire way. 

With 5 minutes of stoppage, the Hawks, lead by 3rd year defender Kobe Avila turned the Warriors away on every attack. Walla Walla mustered just 6 shots the entire night while CBC attempted 21 including 10 on-goal. As Alexander Magana sent the final attack for Walla into the seats, the referee blew the whistle giving the Hawks the 1-0 win and first NWAC Championship since 1999. Johnny Ramirez was named the tournament MVP just edging out his running mate Raymundo Mendez.

The Hawks finish the year with an impressive 14-3 record while outscoring their opponents 53-12 including 7 shutouts (3 over Walla Walla). Martin Ramirez wins his first championship as head coach in his 6th year at the helm.