Providence's quick strikes beat Joliet Catholic

Updated: April 5, 2011 2:16PM

Chris Reed showed again Friday night why she is closing in on becoming Providence's all-time leading scorer.

Reed had two goals to lead the Celtics to a 4-1 win over Joliet Catholic in the East Suburban Catholic opener for both teams at Joliet Memorial Stadium.

"Any time Chris is on the field, we know she will score if we get her the ball," Providence coach Dan Potempa said. "It's just a matter of how many."

Providence (3-1-1, 1-0) quickly struck back-to-back blows.

Six-and-a-half minutes in, Emily Persicketti took a free kick from just outside the box, slid it to Reed with a short pass and Reed buried a high shot past goalkeeper Katie Ibarra for the game's first score.

Just 16 seconds later, Erin O'Donnell stole the ball along the left sideline and delivered a perfect cross to Jamie Noonan who was open in the middle of the box and finished to make it 2-0.

"It was so good to get those goals," Reed said. "It gave us some comfort. JCA is a big rival and it was great to start conference with a win. We feel like we have a shot at the conference title this year."

Joliet Catholic (4-1, 0-1) got on the board with 28:02 left in the first half. Rachel Zampa fired a rocket off a free kick from 30 yards out that deflected off a defender, changed directions and found the net.

The Angels, though, did not have another shot on goal in the half.

Reed provided some insurance with 17:46 to go, turning a perfect long pass from Kyleigh Maday into a breakaway and scoring on a high shot. It was Reed's sixth goal of the season and the 96th of her career, seven shy of the school record.

Marybeth Galick put a header in off a corner for the Celtics' fourth goal.

It was the third win in a row for Providence, which allowed just one goal in those three games.

"We played really well tonight," Potempa said. "This was the team I know we can be."

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