[2] The rivalry has carried national importance itself since the 1990s, leading to numerous thrilling contests between the two in the ACC and NCAA postseason tournaments.

[3] Current Heels coach Joe Breschi summed up the rivalry as "when you’re 12 miles away from a school that you don’t like and doesn’t like you, it makes it more intense.

"[4] In 2019, his counterpart Duke head coach John Danowski described the annual challenge of facing UNC: "They're really good.

[8] The Atlantic Coast Conference began sponsoring men's lacrosse two years later[3] and Duke would again prevail in a 15–1 rout.

[9] NC State had a program for ten years in the 1970s and 1980s, but the ACC schools were the only Division I members in North Carolina for decades.

With this context, the present national powers struggled for much of their early existence against established programs like Maryland and Virginia.

[6] Duke struggled during this same period, at one point going winless in conference play for 10 straight years, compiling an 0–35 mark.

[10] The last Carolina triumph in this streak was an overtime victory in 1986 before Duke ended the drought with a one-goal win the next year.

In the fourth quarter, the Heels rallied from a four-goal deficit to cut Duke's lead to one, but a Sean Delaney shot missed high as time expired to seal another Blue Devils victory.

[9][15][16] This victory was Duke's third in the quarterfinals over the Heels in just four seasons, improving their overall NCAA postseason Tobacco Road record to a perfect 4–0.

[18] Another shootout occurred in 2016, with UNC beating Duke by a score of 17–16 in sudden death overtime to preserve their postseason hopes.

[19] Senior midfielder Patrick Kelly secured the victory with just over two minutes remaining in overtime after Duke had scored a tying goal in regulation with only eight seconds to go.

[23] Top-ranked Duke scored the game-winner by way of attackman Joe Robertson after the game headed to overtime knotted at 11.