When it comes to playing striker on the soccer pitch, success of a player is often determined by the level of aggressiveness when racing down the ball. For Tess Ferrie, she has certainly taken that adage to heart and used her tenacity to take herself and the Branford girls’ soccer team to great successes.

The junior forward started playing soccer at the young age of 6 while playing with her sister, Hornets’ senior teammate Ava Ferrie, and later played travel soccer. After Tess amassed All-SCC Second Team honors last fall, she one-upped herself by nabbing All-SCC First Team accolades after a 23-goal, 16-assist season. More importantly for her Hornets’ team, Branford enjoyed a 14-6 overall campaign in which they reached the semifinals and second round of the SCC and Class L state tournaments, respectively.

“It was amazing to be named All-SCC First Team,” says Tess. “ I was honored by simply making the Second Team last year, too. Yet to get First Team shows my growth in one year as a player, which also means a lot to me.”

At the top of the field and the offensive output for her squad, Tess details that nothing less than a go-getting attitude is going to get the job done on the turf, while being in constant vision of her surrounding teammates.

“As a striker, it is different from any other position; they do a lot up there,” Tess says. “I am the person looking to score the goal and move the ball forward. You have to be fast, aggressive, and chase the ball down and just go for it. It is also about me looking at my team rather than them looking at me. To also see the team helping and getting back on defense is amazing to see.”

Looking at her final season stats, Tess boasts a sound balance of tallies and helpers for the Hornets. She notes that the players behind her set the stage to efficiently but swiftly picker her spot and make her decisions.

“At forward, you have some time to think about what you want to do,” says Tess. “You have a lot of plays where the defense and midfielders play the long ball, and then I can chase after it. I can see how the defense is set up, so I have time to decide what I have to do.”

Branford only added to its sound reputation within the SCC and state ranks with another double-digit win and dual-postseason bid campaign. Tess admires the camaraderie between the girls in all aspects of their lives that carried the Hornets hive to thrive.

“I looked at this team this year and saw that we had that fire and spark with us,” Tess says. “We are a family here. I have played with many of these girls before high school. We all hang out off of the field, too. We work together almost all of the time and have lunches and hangouts together.”

Tess is someone who can beat an opposing defense and netminder in a multitude of ways and from all different distances while being a spiritual leader, according to Branford girls’ soccer Head Coach Jen Kohut.

“Tess is an explosive, dynamic player. She always leaves everything she has on the field,” says Kohut. “She is an awesome teammate who makes the players around her better. She is a natural goal scorer who can score from 30 yards out and beat a goalkeeper one-on-one in the box. Her speed and awareness make her a very dangerous striker. Tess has a fun-loving attitude that picks everyone up at practice and keeps everyone staying loose in games.”

As Tess strives for even grander goals for herself pushing towards her senior year, she would love nothing more than to close out her soccer career by leading the Hornets to not only a conference crown but also to the ultimate summit in the form of a state championship.

“I think our main goals as a team next year are SCCs and states. We want to be in that final tier of teams and make it to the finals,” says Tess. “We are losing some seniors, but I have faith in our defense, which is so strong. We are strong but mighty, and we will hold our own next year. For me, I was honored to make All-SCC First Team, but I would like to strive for [New Haven Register] All-Area Team and the All-State Team.”