Sometimes, a club finds the chemistry it needs to hit the ground running from the outset of its inaugural season. Between 2014 and 2017, an expansion side finished in the top three of the standings each year, whether Sacramento Republic FC in the league’s single-table format in 2014 or others in their respective conferences since.

But for other clubs the learning curve can be steeper, making the second season the one in which the breakthrough arrives.

That’s been the case for Fresno FC, which on Saturday night surpassed its point total from its inaugural season with a 2-1 victory against Las Vegas Lights FC at Chukchansi Park to remain in third place in the Western Conference with 13 games to go in its campaign.

A pair of goals by Jaime Chavez – one of the new recruits brought in this offseason to bolster the club’s first-year scoring issues – proved the difference against Las Vegas and kept Head Coach Adam Smith’s club on a path to a potential second-place finish by the end of the season. While Reno 1868 FC has a four-point edge on the Foxes, Fresno has two games in hand that could allow them to vault into a favorable position.

Should the Foxes do so, they’d be following in the footsteps of two notable predecessors that missed the playoffs in their first year and became serious contenders the next in OKC Energy FC and San Antonio FC. Energy FC went from 10th in the league in its inaugural season in 2014 to second place in the Western Conference a year later, while SAFC made the same jump in the Western Conference between 2016 and 2017.

With a trip to the postseason almost a certainty at this point, the Foxes will be one of the challengers to Western Conference leader Phoenix Rising FC’s bid for its first league title at the end of the season, having lost only three times in the regular season. The two teams played to a scoreless draw at Casino Arizona Field early this season and are set to meet at Chukchanski Park on September 21 in what is one of the highlight games down the home stretch.

After coming this far in a year, though, the Foxes look ready to remain a contender beyond the end of this season.

Here’s this week’s 18.

1. If Fresno is going to contend in the postseason, it’s going to have to do without influential midfielder Arun Basuljevic after he suffered a broken left fibula that was repaired at the Community Regional Medical Center late on Saturday night. It’s a terrible blow for Basuljevic individually, as he had started to come into his own during the Foxes’ recent five-game winning streak recording eight key passes, eight shots and an 83.5 passing accuracy rate over that span.

2. “My heart goes out to Arun with the injury,” said Foxes Head Coach Adam Smith. “We talked to the guys about it in the locker room and will try to turn this into a positive. We are going to do whatever we can to try to win every game from here on out for him.”