NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Three-point performances from sophomore Emilie Anderson and senior Solvei Berg-Messerole propelled the St. Olaf College women's hockey team to a 5-1 victory over the College of Saint Benedict to claim a series split on Saturday evening at St. Olaf Ice Arena.

Anderson had two goals and one assist, while Berg-Messerole collected a goal and two assists, as the duo helped St. Olaf (3-5-0, 2-2-0 MIAC) send Saint Ben's (3-2-0, 3-1-0 MIAC) to its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) loss of the season. The victory came in the first game of the season for the Oles decided by more than one goal.

Anderson's two-goal, one-assist performance marked the first three-point game and first two-goal game of the sophomore's career. Berg-Messerole had her second three-point game of the season, bringing her team-leading total to 10 points on five goals and five assists in eight games.

St. Olaf took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission after Anderson scored the lone goal of the opening period at the 18:44 mark. After Berg-Messerole won a faceoff, Anderson collected the puck and drove to the net to score her first goal of the game to give the Oles the lead after 20 minutes.

Saint Ben's tied the game on a shorthanded goal by Jorja Jusczak at 5:11 of the second period, but the Oles answered less than four minutes later to reclaim the lead. Sophomore Bella LaMere scored just five seconds into a 5-on-3 power play for St. Olaf, firing the puck home from the slot off a feed from Berg-Messerole for LaMere's second goal of the season.

Berg-Messerole added a goal to her two assists at 14:35 of the second period to extend St. Olaf's lead to 3-1 after two. The senior was on hand on the edge of the crease to jam the puck home after a shot by first year Kellsey Kludt was loose.

In the third, the Oles maintained their lead past the midway point of the period before adding a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes to finish off the season-high five-goal game. Senior Emma Heath got her second goal of the season at 10:26 before Anderson flung the puck into an empty net from her own defensive zone in the final 15 seconds.

Sophomore Baylyn Shankman had 27 of her 31 saves over the final two periods to improve to 3-2-0 on the season for St. Olaf, which was outshot by a 32-29 margin in the game. Lexi Badali made 24 saves in the loss for the visitors. In a game with 11 penalties, the Oles were 1-for-6 on the power play, while the Bennies were 0-for-5.

St. Olaf will close out November with a non-conference game against nationally-ranked UW-River Falls at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at Hunt Arena in River Falls, Wis.