Although Baum admitted it wasn’t pretty, the Spartans were able to grind the game out and get the 2-0 win over the Bearcats at DeMartin Stadium at Old College Field.

“You play those three big games and I think we were physically and emotionally drained,” Baum said. “We didn’t have any emotion and I thought our legs looked heavy. But I’m proud of the effort.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Avery Steinlage stopped 10 shots and recorded his fifth shutout of the season.

“I thought Avery was just real solid again,” Baum said. “His air game, distribution, presence in the box and shot saving were all very solid.”

The Spartans (9-5-0 overall) looked to take an early lead seven minutes into the game when senior forward Doug DeMartin fired a shot from five yards outside the 18-yard box. Cincinnati goalkeeper Matt Williams stopped the hard shot.

Senior midfielder Zac Scaffidi gave the Spartans the lead with 14 minutes left in the first half when he half-volleyed the ball with his left foot into the net. The ball came right to Scaffidi after sophomore midfielder Jeff Ricondo ripped a shot that was blocked by a Cincinnati defender.

“It felt good coming off my foot,” Scaffidi said. “I had a couple opportunities before that and I was pushing to get a goal to put the team ahead. But it just fell to my foot and I got a good shot off.”

Steinlage was happy to see the Spartans jump out to an early lead.

“It’s a boost,” Steinlage said. “You know that the first mistake you make it’s still a tie game and you chill out a little bit and start playing your game.”

The first half ended with both teams recording five shots and one corner kick.

Five minutes into the second half, senior forward Louis Stephens III was taken down during a run down the left flank and earned a foul for the Spartans. Senior midfielder Ben Pirmann took the kick to the back post, but it was flicked out by a Cincinnati defender.

The game started to get chippy early in the second half, as the Spartans earned two yellow cards in less than two minutes.

DeMartin scored his 14th goal of the season to give the Spartans the 2-0 lead with 36 minutes left in the second half.

Stephens dribbled the ball up the right side of the field and played a pass on the ground to DeMartin, who was streaking toward the goal. DeMartin pushed the ball on the ground into the left side of the net.

Baum wasn’t surprised to see Scaffidi and DeMartin record goals for the Spartans, as he said they are both veteran players who know how to put the ball into the back of the net.

“When they have a good chance, they are going to either put it on the net or finish it,” Baum said.

“That’s the difference with the younger and older players. The older kids realize they only might get one or two chances a game so they think ‘let’s at least keep the ball on the frame.’”

With 25 minutes left in the half, Stephens brought the ball into the Cincinnati 18-yard box and made it his mission to get to the net. He dribbled through three defenders but set himself up with a poor angle shot that went into the side netting.

Scaffidi tried to expand the lead with nine minutes left in the game. He gained possession of the ball in the left corner and looked to play a cross into the 18-yard box.

But after he put the ball through the defenders’ legs, Scaffidi found he had more time and space than he originally thought. He took a shot that tipped off a defender and barely went over the crossbar.

“I got forward a little bit and the defender had me one-on-one so I decided to take him on and take him inside,” Scaffidi said. “I got by him and my shot was going in but he somehow got his back on it.”

Scaffidi called Wednesday’s contest “one of the games he’s been most nervous for” because he didn’t want his team to overlook Cincinnati’s talent. But he was relieved to earn the win and keep the winning streak alive.

“We had confidence this week and Cincinnati is a good team and we knew we couldn’t underestimate a team like that,” Scaffidi said. “It was really important to win this game.”

The Spartans will take on Valparaiso at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at DeMartin.