MARMOLEJO'S HAPPY TO BE BACK HOME ROYAL HIGH ALUM RETURNS TO MOORPARK.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

MOORPARK - Jami Marmolejo was never intimidated by the bigger and more physical Marmonte League defenders who would try to bully her around the goal. The painful scrapes and bruises that came with playing three years on the varsity at Royal High were always something she could handle.

Nothing, for that matter, really fazed Marmolejo too much. At least not until leaving her Simi Valley home as a 17-year-old just out of high school to play soccer at Division II Sonoma State, something she said nearly tore her apart.

``The first month I was there, I cried every day,'' Marmolejo said. ``I'm really family-oriented and that made it really hard. I'd never been in that situation before, so it was tough for me.

``I was just really homesick.''

Marmolejo is now back among more comfortable surroundings, living at home with her family and attending nearby Moorpark College, where she's emerged as a soccer standout.

A forward for most of her high school career, Marmolejo, who's now a center-midfielder for Moorpark, is third on the team with four goals and is 15th in Southern California with 18 points.

Moorpark was 10-2-1, 4-1-2 in Western State Conference play going into Friday's pivotal showdown against nine-time conference champion Ventura (6-0-1). The Raiders, who ended a 10-year playoff drought in 2002, figure to make the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

Marmolejo doesn't consider her year at Sonoma State a total waste. She enjoyed some aspects of college life away from home, and felt she held her own in practices as a redshirt freshman and in unofficial spring soccer games against some pretty intense competition.

But Marmolejo never really warmed up to the idea of being seven hours from home.

``It kind of took the fun out of playing soccer,'' Marmolejo said. ``Here, I can't wait for practice. There, I would dread it.''

But Marmolejo's attitude and enthusiasm for soccer are back, and by all accounts, she has become one of Moorpark's most inspirational players.

Although technically not a team captain, Marmolejo has assumed a leadership role that comes with her position, which she considers the soccer equivalent of a quarterback in football.

``She's definitely someone who tries to pump up the team when we're down and tries to contribute to people doing better and not getting down on themselves,'' sophomore forward Krista Clinton said. ``She definitely tries to better the team when we're in a rut.''

In addition to her excellent athleticism and technical soccer ability, Marmolejo has impressed her coaches with exceptional field vision and creative instincts.

``She runs the show for us,'' Moorpark coach Eric Privat said. ``She's the soul of the system of play I try to teach, and that's very hard to teach. If you can't read the game before things happen, you'll always be an average player.''

Marmolejo, who is a freshman in terms of eligibility, hopes to eventually play soccer at a four-year school, preferably at UC Santa Barbara or San Diego State, where she'd like to pursue a major in kinesiology.

Although admittedly not ready for the responsibilities that came with college life away from home just out of high school, she's now looking forward to experiencing it closer to home and at a time that's more appropriate for her.

``Everybody else (at Sonoma) was in the same boat as me, but I guess I didn't handle it as well as I should have. I guess I could have stuck it out, but I'm happy with my decision now,'' Marmolejo said. ``I would rather focus on school and have fun playing soccer than stressing over school and stressing over soccer.''

Gideon Rubin [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Royal High of Simi Valley grad Jami Marmolejo is a team leader for Moorpark College.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer