After engineering one of the biggest turnarounds in college soccer a year ago, Carla Tejas was announced as the fourth head coach in UT Permian Basin Women's Soccer history.
During her three seasons at UTPB, Coach Tejas led the team to an overall record of 13-25-12 with a 7-21-9 mark in Lone Star Conference play.
UTPB finished the 2024 season with a record of 4-10-3 overall and 2-9-2 in the LSC while senior defender Kristel Chaves was named Third-Team All-Conference and sophomore Valeria Delgado was the first Falcon to be named the LSC Goalkeeper of the Week.
In 2023, the Falcons were 4-7-6 overall and 2-5-5 in the LSC while junior midfielder Tatiana Leggiero was named Third-Team All-Conference and was just the second player in program history to earn all-region honors (2023 Division II Conference Commissioners Association South Central Region second team).
In her first season leading UTPB in 2022, the Falcons finished the season with five overall wins (5-8-3), their most since winning five in 2015. In addition, their three Lone Star Conference wins (3-7-2) were the most in program history.
Tejas took Louisiana Christian College who went 1-16-1 in 2019 to a 16-2-1 record in 2021 and reached the NAIA National Tournament. Prior to Tejas, the Wildcats had never reached the postseason and since 2013 had only won more than two games in a season just once. In that time frame, the Wildcats won as many games as she did in a single season. The Wildcats won the Red River Athletic Conference with a 10-0-1 record as Tejas took home Coach of the Year honors. fter winning the conference, the Wildcats reached the NAIA National Tournament where they fell to No. 1 overall seed William Carey University, 1-0, on a goal in the final minute of the ballgame. Martina Terra Garcia scored a school record 22 goals and was named an NAIA All-American honorable mention and RRAC Newcomer of the Year. Stephanie Doran scored 16 goals as the Wildcats combined for a program record 83 on the year. Goalkeeper Jessica Carro Pedreira led the way in net as the team posted 11 shutouts. Five players were named First Team All-Conference and a pair were named All-Conference Honorable Mentions.
Prior to her one year at Louisiana Christian, Tejas was a graduate assistant at Belhaven University for two seasons. Working primarily with goalkeepers, Tejas helped turn around the Blazers as their goals against average dropped from 3.76, the season prior to her arrival, to 1.55, her final season on staff. Before her arrival the Blazers had two wins before becoming a 10-win team and reached the American Southwest Conference playoffs. She also spent time at Louisiana State University at Alexandria where they earned a RRAC regular season conference championship, the first in program history, and coached the league's Newcomer of the Year, Cecilie Mortensen, to an 11-win season.
She played collegiately at LSU at Alexandria as a goalkeeper winning five games and allowing just 1.275 goals per game. She also played internationally for her home country of Chile, representing them for seven years. Tejas participated in the U17 World Cup as a member of the team.
Tejas earned her bachelor's degree in business with a concentration in management from LSU Alexandria, and a master's from Belhaven in business administration.
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Tejas at UTPB
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| Year |
Season at UTPB |
Overall Record |
Conference Record |
Conference Finish/Accolades |
| 2022 |
1st |
5-8-3 |
3-7-2 |
T-9th LSC (* UT Permian Basin’s conference point total adjusted to 1 point after nullified LSC games) |
| 2023 |
2nd |
4-7-6 |
2-5-5 |
T-9th LSC |
| 2024 |
3rd |
4-10-3 |
2-9-2 |
12th LSC |
| Overall |
13-25-12 (.380 pct.) |
7-21-9 (.319 pct.) |
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