CARBONDALE, Ill. — It was just nice that it wasn't a tie.

It was even better that it was a win.

On Sunday at Saluki Stadium, the Bellarmine University women's soccer team broke a string of five straight draws to start the season by posting a 2-0 victory over Southern Illinois.

"We got a win," Knights Coach Chris Tinius said. "It wasn't a very pretty performance, but we found a group of about 14 players that were at least putting the mental and physical effort in and we rode them out. Hopefully we learn some things from that mindset."

Senior midfielder and transfer Sarah Buse scored her first career goal at Bellarmine (1-0-5), which rebounded offensively after being shut out over its last two games. The Knights' second goal against Southern Illinois (0-6-1) was recorded as an own goal.

Bellarmine got on the board in the 22nd minute as Buse scored off an assist from sophomore defender McKenna Hamm. The Knights would tack on an insurance goal in the 69th minute as the Salukis misplayed a ball off a Buse touch that led to an own goal.

"Sarah Buse has been a great example for us from Day 1," Tinius said, "so it was fun to see her get rewarded a couple times today."

Bellarmine added another notch to its impressive start defensively to the year. The Knights delivered their third straight shutout and have yielded only three goals in six games. Senior goalkeeper Elyssa Francis collected four saves for Bellarmine.

Southern Illinois had a 10-6 edge in shots, including 4-2 on frame.

Bellarmine will host Chicago State at 11 a.m. (ET) Thursday

For more coverage of Bellarmine athletics, follow us on Twitter (@BUKnights), Instagram (BUKnights) and Facebook (BUKnights).