The Spartan defense has held strong during what Baum said was one of the toughest stretches of the season, a three-game series against Indiana, Notre Dame and U-M.

The boys in green and white lost their first game of the stretch against Indiana — their lone loss this season — but bounced back to defeat then-No. 3 Notre Dame 1-0 Wednesday and U-M 5-0.

The victory over U-M came amid a steady shower of rain, but neither team said the weather gave the other team an edge.

“It was sloppy for both teams,” U-M head coach Steve Burns said.

Junior forward Doug DeMartin, who had two goals on penalty kicks for the Spartans, said he didn’t mind playing in the rain.

“It speeds up the game,” DeMartin said. “It’s just a part of (the game).”

Despite the rain, 2,200 fans came out to support the Spartans in the rivalry match.

“It’s a shame it was raining, because as good a crowd as it is, a lot of soccer fans don’t like to come in the rain,” he said. “I appreciate them coming out, you could feel their presence, you really could.”

NCAA ramifications

Baum said the win was important for the team’s quest for the Big Ten title, but also was huge for the NCAA Tournament.

“In past years we were on the bubble and we didn’t get in, they said we didn’t have any quality, big-time wins,” Baum said. “But now we beat the No. 3 team and the (No. 21) team in the nation, so they can no longer say we don’t have any big-time wins.”

Give them a break

MSU’s schedule lightens up significantly over its next three games. The Spartans will host Oakland on Wednesday, travel to Valparaiso, Ind. on Oct. 21 and then return to East Lansing to face Western Michigan on Oct. 24. The Spartans’ next Big Ten contest will be Oct. 28 at Northwestern.

Senior defender Rauwshan McKenzie said Big Ten games are always more physical than nonconference games.

“Those out-of-conference games are a little less physical, and that helps guys rest a little more and get ready for the Big Ten,” he said.