Windham grad Ciera Berthiaume excels on and off soccer field at USM

Ciera Berthiaume goes up against a Western
Connecticut State opponent at the Little
East Conference game at Hannaford Field
in Gorham on Sept. 21, 2019.
PHOTO BY UNIVERSITY OF
SOUTHERN MAINE

By Matt Pascarella

University of Southern Maine senior, Ciera Berthiaume made a big impression at USM the moment she stepped on the soccer field. Since graduating from Windham High in 2016, she led the Huskies women’s team to their best record in school history. At the end of 2018, Berthiaume made it into the USM history books by scoring the second most goals in a season.

Even though USM did not have a 2020 fall season, last month she was honored as the “Husky Hero of the Week” for her accomplishments in previous seasons.

While at Windham High School, Berthiaume was a four-time Southern Maine Activities Association All-Conference player. She and her team won back-to-back state championships. She was named to the 2017 Maine State Class-A All-Star team and the All-New England Region team. 

Berthiaume wants to recognize the amazing teachers she had at Windham High School. They really helped her shape herself into being the person and student she is today. She really appreciates them putting up with her adolescent self. Teachers are extremely crucial to a student’s development and she thinks they deserve more recognition especially during COVID times.

An English major, Berthiaume took time off from soccer after she arrived at USM. Berthiaume had put a lot of time into the sport and felt burnt out her last year of high school. She wanted to figure out who she was outside of soccer. The time to recover did her well, because as soon as she stepped back on the field, she began to turn heads.

“Coming back onto the soccer scene I was mostly focused on being able to play a sport I love. I came in
excited to be a part of a team again and the new community I was joining,” she said.

While there was no 2020 fall season, Berthiaume and her teammates did get to practice, and it gave them a sense of normalcy in a year filled with uncertainty.

USM women’s soccer coach Seth Benjamin described her as a leader on the team.

Benjamin said she does well relating to other players, underclassmen as well as upperclassmen.  She was instrumental in putting herself in underclassmen’s shoes and that helped a lot of their younger players, especially this year.

It meant a lot to her to be the “Husky Hero of the Week.”

“I was incredibly grateful to be recognized ... It really made me feel like I’m a part of the USM community,” she said. The people at USM have always been extremely welcoming and supportive.”

Berthiaume excels off the field as well. She received the William B. Wise Scholar-Athlete Award for two consecutive seasons. To receive this, athletes must have a minimum grade point average of 3.00 for fall and spring semesters, be a full time student and be a member of a varsity team for a full season.

Her biggest goal is to become an author. As a high school student, she loved reading and did it as much as possible. She enjoys writing poems in her free time and finds it therapeutic. She also likes to write coming of age stories. She hopes to write something that connects with and impacts a reader.

“She’s a phenomenal player,” said Benjamin. “We couldn’t ask for anything more from her ... she’s come through in the clutch so many times for us.” <