Orlando City shaved 23 years off its typical starting XI last week when the Columbus Crew came to town.

Captain Kaká was not on the field due to red card suspension. Veteran defender Jonathan Spector missed his second game recovering from a knee injury and back-up captain Will Johnson limped off with an ankle sprain in the first half.

Without them, the team got a lot younger and the players who replaced them needed to take on leadership roles they may not assume on a regular basis.

Cristian Higuita, 23, came in for Johnson, 30; Léo Pereira, 21, has played in place of Jonathan Spector, 31, the last two matches; and Giles Barnes, 29, joined the starting XI for the first time since July 21 in absence of Kaká, 35.

“It’s everyone’s responsibility to take a leadership role, to communicate, to help, to contribute to the team,” Higuita said. “But we also still have experienced guys on the field — [Antonio] Nocerino, Joe [Bendik] — and they can add that experience side.”

Higuita, who often starts in a different midfield position, succeeded in Johnson’s role Saturday. He grabbed an assist when he fed the ball to Barnes for the team’s equalizer in the 67th minute, and he won the praise of Lions’ coach Jason Kreis.

“I think he’s an extremely versatile midfielder,” Kreis said. “He’s arguably one of the highest-potential players that we have in this group. I’m really a big fan of his. Sometimes there’s a little bit of confusion or a communication problem about what exactly his role is and what we want, but tonight I thought he came in and did an excellent job at the eight position.”

Communication is big, and it’s something all of Orlando City’s younger players are working on, particularly at the centerback position, where organization is key. Pereira started alongside Tommy Redding, 20, in the last two matches without Spector. José Aja, 24, also rotates in that position.

“When we lose the guy that we really count on for that in our back four, you can see it’s difficult,” Kreis said, referring to Spector. “All three of them are good centerbacks in their own right, but it’s difficult for them to take on a leadership role when they play there. But, they’re going to have to if they want to move their careers forward.”

Redding is a leader of the U.S. Under-20 national team, where he is on the same level as everyone else. With Orlando City, it’s different, he said, and he’s working on getting the confidence to be a vocal leader among those much more experience than him.

“I think it was important for me to get that experience with the national team,” Redding said. “To have that in my back pocket starting this off without Spector, I think, is big for me to step up with the team.”

Spector’s recovery timeline was two to three weeks from Aug. 10, meaning it is unlikely he’ll be ready in time for Saturday’s home match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Both Redding and Pereira stayed after training for a few minutes last week to work with Nocerino, 32, and stayed late again on Tuesday with Seb Hines, 29, who was a top prospect at centerback when he was young but was hampered by knee injuries and loaned to Orlando City B this year.

Hines said he tried to offer a little bit of veteran advice, such as playing the right balls at the right times and demanding what they want from the players in front of them.

“Maybe I can pitch in with some advice, maybe try to give the young lads some pointers and help them prolong their playing time,” Hines said. “They’ve done really well so far.”

It hasn’t been without challenges. Pereira speaks Portuguese, Aja mostly Spanish and Redding English.

“Despite the language barrier, we try to communicate a lot,” Pereira said through a translator. “I think we’re doing that very well. We’re just trying to make the players feel comfortable that we can take care of the message here in the back.”

ardelgallo@orlandosentinel.com