On Thursday, Trevor Mangan (pictured above) was the facilitator.

Saturday evening in Torrance he was the primary weapon.

After assisting on two goals in TMU’s win over the University of Antelope Valley on Thursday, the senior forward scored two himself and assisted on another a little over 48 hours later as the Mustangs beat No. 14 Marymount California University 3-1 at El Camino College in Torrance, Calif.

“Everyone played extremely well tonight,” said TMU coach Jim Rickard. “Trevor had a night to remember.”

The triumph over the Mariners, an NAIA National Tournament quarterfinalist last year, improved the Mustangs’ record to 7-1.

“Marymount is a fantastic team,” Rickard said. “And, it’s one of the most respected in the NAIA, so it’s a great win for the program.”

It took a while, though, for both offenses to kick into gear. Neither side found the net in a scoreless first half that featured just nine total shots, including three on goal for the Mustangs, each stopped by Mariner keeper Ramon Garcia, who wound up with six saves.

However, the Mustangs kept pushing.

And, fittingly, it started with Mangan, who took advantage of a Marymount turnover 1:38 into the second half and beat Garcia one-on-one for a 1-0 lead.

Then, just over a minute later, Mangan doubled TMU’s advantage when he fired a penalty kick past Garcia. The opportunity was set up when Dylan Bielanski beat a Mariner defender and was fouled in the box.

It was Mangan’s second successful penalty kick of 2018 and his team-high fifth goal of the year.

The flurry of scoring continued for the Mustangs, who forged a 3-0 lead in the 48th minute when Mangan picked off a bad pass and fed it to Benji Tembo, who put his fourth goal of the year into the net.

Mangan’s assist gave him five points for the evening, equaling a career-high.

Another shutout was in range for the Mustangs but a Mariner goal with 17:24 remaining kept that from coming to fruition.

That didn’t keep Rickard from expounding on the importance of the victory.

“My desire would be for us to take this win as an example of what could be if we work hard moving into conference (play),” he said. “Our speed of play was excellent and our team defense was organized and tough.”

The Mustangs will look to parlay that combination into another win Tuesday when they welcome Florida National to Reese Field for a 4 p.m. start.