The Fairfield University women's soccer team will be without the services of rookie Michelle Kowalski for the next 10 days as she heads to Estonia to play for the U19 Polish National Team in qualifying round action of the 2011-12 European Cup.   Kowalski has started each of the four games in which she has appeared for the Stags this fall.

Kowalski has been with the U19 squad since last summer.  A center midfielder for the team, she has been receiving good playing time and has cracked the starting line-up in recent contests.

Kowalski and her team will take on the host team, Estonia, on Saturday, September 17, in Haapsalu.  Two days later they will take on Cyprus in the same stadium, before wrapping up the pool versus the Czech Republic in Rakvere on September 22.  The top two teams from the pool advance to the second round of qualifying, held in the spring of 2012, with the final tournament running July 2-14, 2012 in Antayla, Turkey.

Fans can follow the Kowalski and the Polish U19 team in its qualifying action at UEFA.com and her journal entries from the trip can be found here.