Columbus' Chad Marshall, in yellow, heads the ball to score in the second half against Chicago on Thursday. (Jay LaPrete/Associated Press)

Chad Marshall and Eddie Gaven led Columbus to its first MLS Cup appearance, scoring second-half goals in the Crew's 2-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Fire on Thursday night in the Eastern Conference final.

In the Nov. 23 final at Carson, Calif., Columbus will face the winner of the Western Conference final Saturday between New York at Real Salt Lake.

Brian McBride, who played eight seasons for the Crew before leaving for the English Premier League in 2003, scored for the Fire in his first MLS game as a visiting player in Crew Stadium. McBride headed Justin Mapp's crossing pass just past goalkeeper William Hesmer's outstretched arms in the 29th minute.

Marshall tied it in the 50th minute, leaping over McBride to score on a header off Guillermo Barros Schelotto's free kick.

Five minutes later, Schelotto headed a pass to Alejandro Moreno, who in turn headed to Gaven in front of the Fire goal. Gaven took one touch to settle the ball before lacing a right-footed strike into the back of the net.

John Thorrington barely missed giving Chicago an early lead when he stepped to the top of the penalty area and blasted a right-footed shot past the reach of Hesmer but wide to the right of the goal in the second minute.

Fire midfielder Justin Mapp maneuvered past three Crew players to find space for a long-range shot that forced a diving save from Hesmer in the eighth minute.

McBride booed by crowd

The Crew's first scoring opportunity came in the 19th minute, when Marshall headed Schelotto's free kick over the crossbar.

Crew midfielder Robbie Rogers's right-footed shot forced an acrobatic save from Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch that kept Chicago in the game in the 59th minute.

Second-half substitute Marco Pappa failed to convert on his last-second scoring opportunity inside the penalty area when his shot sailed wide left of goal.

Despite waving five yellow cards, referee Terry Vaughan appeared content to let the sides battle it out. The teams played with increasing physicality as the second half wore on, and Vaughan ignored the Crew's pleas for penalty kicks twice late in the game.

Vaughan booked the Fire's Bakary Soumare in the 22nd minute and Gonzalo Segares in the 48th minute, both for fouls against Gaven, with the second yellow setting up Marshall's tying score.

The Crew's Danny O'Rourke and Chicago's Brandon Prideaux also were shown yellow. Hesmer was carded for time-wasting in second-half stoppage time.

McBride was the face of the Columbus franchise virtually throughout his career with the black and gold. He played in the Crew's only previous championship game, the 2002 U.S. Open Cup, which Columbus won 1-0.

But Thursday night, he was greeted by a chorus of boos from the crowd of 14,688 during the pre-game introductions and every time he touched the ball.